Stone Cold Body, Warm Heart
by EagleRay
Summary: So, at the end of Season 2, Terra's trapped in stone, right? How do events unfold now? As you may be able to tell, I'm taking a bit of a Tangent off the conventional TT universe. Everything in the past has happened, but it all changes after AFTERSHOCK
1. Stone Cold

**Title: **Stone Cold Body, Warm Heart

**Rating:** I'd say PG-15 for future language and any other sort of twisted scenes that may enter into my strange mind.

**Spoilers:** Episode "Aftershock"

**Disclaimer:** The whole idea and related themes of the Teen Titans does not belong to me, it belongs to the Warner Brothers, so please – don't sue me…you'll be sorely disappointed.

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**(((Stone Cold Body, Warm Heart)))**

Teen Titan, they called me.

_A True Friend_.

They gave me their trust, and how did I repay them? I betrayed them – I killed them, but more than that; I humiliated them, I taunted them for falling for my ploy, for believing that I was ever one of them, that I was ever their friend; _I_ did those things – not Slade – it was _all me_, and I felt absolutely nothing for their passing – no guilt, no remorse, no regrets…and especially no sorrow for losing the people I'd called friends. They hadn't, after all, been my friends in the first place – I'd used them.

And then the unthinkable had happened.

They came back from the dead, defying all logic – breaking every rule in the book. I had drowned Raven myself, Starfire had been thrown off a cliff into the ocean, I'd crushed Robin with a boulder the size of a city bus, and Cyborg and Beast Boy had both been swallowed up by a bottomless canyon of my own creation.

Defying all reason, the Teen Titans came back…and they totally tore me apart. There had been no words this time – no entreaties for the blonde Earthmover to turn back from the path she'd chosen; I'd apparently worn through even _their_ vast patience.

I'd worn through _everyone's_ patience, it seemed – everyone's but one; even Slade had turned on me.

But in the end, when all was said and done, it seemed whatever God existed up there still likes me, because it turns out I was a Titan through and through. After I killed Slade – and I know he's dead this time; I can feel it – I saved the entire city.

And here I still stand, frozen in time; my stone cold, unmoving body endures as an eternal testament to the classic _Fallen-Hero_ story, and nothing will ever return me to normal.

As if I'd really want to face them ever again…

That's right, I could hear them, but I couldn't see them. I even heard them when they came by sometime later to hold a memorial for me. They each had something nice to say, as if the last five minutes of my life had somehow erased every crime I'd committed – against them, and against the city they had sworn to protect. They said they'd be looking for a way to turn my stone body back to flesh, but even I could hear the despair in their voices; they had all given up on any hope that I was still alive inside this cold, slate-grey shell…just like me.

I don't know if I can qualify as alive anymore; I can't move any part of myself and I can't see, but I can't for the life of me explain how in the world I can still hear. _I'm _standing motionless in a rather wide spot of light in the middle of an endless expanse of darkness, just like I imagine my body is…out there in the real world. To tell the truth, I can't even _feel_ my body. Heck, I can't even tell what time of day it is, or how many days have passed since I committed suicide; with no sunset or sunrise to use as a reference, it could have been an hour or a century after my funeral that someone finally came to visit me.

Alone.

The first thing I heard were the footsteps, which wasn't all that surprising, considering where my body was the last time I'd been aware of the physical world…the last thing I remember seeing of my surroundings was an enormous underground cavern; I'd made it easily three times larger when I'd finally gathered the courage and strength to fight back against Slade's control. If anyone ever wanted to visit me, it wasn't as if they just drive down to see me in my quiet little domain.

The footsteps echoed around the vast cavern, reminding me once again of the sheer size of my space, and part of me expected my unexpected visitor to step out of the endless darkness around me and into the circular spotlight in which I stood, but that wasn't going to happen. Whoever was approaching was a thousand light years away from wherever I now found myself. Sure, my body was still in that cavern, and I was still somehow tied to it in some inexplicable way, but I was somewhere else; I was on a whole other plane of existence, if that makes any sense at all. It's the best explanation I can come up with.

But, those footsteps kept coming, and I found myself trying to identify the first visitor I'd had since all five of the Titans were there for my memorial, if only to pass away a few minutes of the eternity that I would no doubt be forced to endure thanks to my sudden moment of heroism.

Not that I regretted that chance to redeem myself, mind you.

Not that my moment put me anywhere near redemption in the first place…

My visitor had to be a Titan – anyone else would have hesitated before coming so close to my cold body; these soft footfalls were too steady, too confident, as if the owner wasn't surprised at the sight that met them when they emerged from the subterranean tunnels – as if they actually expected to see my still form standing atop it's skyscraper-spire of stone in the middle of a stadium-sized hole in the Earth beneath Jump City.

That very same confidence in my visitor's step told me that it wasn't Beast Boy; there was a certain familiar, almost trademark clumsiness in his very nature that made the green-skinned Titan far too awkward to be sure of himself in his movements – unless he was on the attack that is. Each Footfall was light and quiet – made clearly audible only because of its echoes off the stone surfaces all around the two of them – so that ruled out Cyborg and his incredibly massive mechanical body. There was a very faint swish of cloth – like a cape or something close to a cape – so it wasn't Starfire unless the normally bubbly alien had changed her wardrobe.

My mental rationalizations left only two possible identities for the intruder of my eternal nothingness; one whose voice I didn't really want to hear, and the other one, whose voice I _really_ didn't want to hear.

The footsteps stopped right in front of me, and I heard the soft whisper of clothing shifting, and then silence. With each infinite second that passed between us, I felt my suspicions growing that my visitor was the worse of the two evils.

"Okay," she said finally in that aggravatingly cool, controlled voice, "I'm ready to try this, so let's hope it wasn't all for nothing."

I would have cursed if I could – I _really_ would have, but I was stuck standing unmoving in my very own lonely spotlight with nothing to look at or focus on save for the sounds around my cold statue of a body.

"Terra."

I wouldn't have answered the whispered words if I had the power to speak. This was the Titan whom I had taunted the most with my betrayal; this was the Titan who no doubt cursed herself for falling so easily for my deception; and this was the cause of a very large – unbelievably gargantuan – portion of my guilt…no doubt she would have some rather harsh words for me. Honestly, I didn't need to hear them – I was doing a fine enough job off punishing myself without her words to add to the overbearing guilt that weighed me down.

Unfortunately, God loved me so much he just had to play one more joke on me.

Because right in front of me, in my endless prison of darkness and solitude, there appeared a second circle of light, within which stood the very last person that I wanted to see right now – clothed as always in her black leotard and her dark blue cloak. Her hood was down, leaving her pale, grey-skinned face exposed with her equally pale, straight purple hair hanging loosely from her head, framing her face with its lightly closed dark violet, almost black eyes. My eyes widened at the sight.

_Raven_.

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Author: Okay, so what did you think of my experiment into Teen Titans fanfiction? I can promise no romance because that kind of writing really drains me, but at the very least, there will be less animosity between my two main characters ( I seem to have developed a trend where I keep the focus of my story on only two characters and just throw other characters in from time to time. I think my writing works better for small groups.

And I'll admit, it's a shorter chapter than any of you who know me may be used to, but I'm just dipping my toe into the water to see what kind of response I can get. Tell me, and I'll write more because I have the notes, but I would like some feedback please.

(ie: where do you see this story going? Where would you _like_ it to go? Etc…)


	2. Hope?

**Title: **Stone Cold Body, Warm Heart

**Rating:** I'd say PG-15 for future language and any other sort of twisted scenes that may enter into my strange mind.

**Spoilers:** Episode "Aftershock" and various other passing references to anything Terra-related

**Disclaimer:** The whole idea and related themes of the Teen Titans does not belong to me, it belongs to the Warner Brothers, so please – don't sue me…you'll be sorely disappointed.

**Summary: **Well, not much happened last chapter…Terra's stone. In an underground cavern of her own creation (ish). She's looking back on her time as Slade's apprentice, and then Raven comes to visit her alone.

Now onto the insanity!

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**Chapter 2 – Hope?**

Today was definitely not my day.

Here I was enjoying the eternity of solitude and the endless, shadow-enshrouded prison that my less-than-stellar life had earned me, and along came God to play a cruel joke on me.

I'd already resigned myself to spending every single one of the oh-so-very-long years that this oh-so-very-healthy Earth had remaining standing frozen in my otherworldly prison of sensationlessness and darkness.

Oh yes, this planet was very healthy; I ignored every Greenpeace and "Save the Earth" yuppie I saw – why? Because they were all wrong, because they couldn't _feel_ the heartbeat of the Earth like I had – like I _still _could. None of the Titans had ever understood exactly what my connection with the Earth was; they all thought that it was just a matter of me being able to move earth and stone at will in a variety of ways, but it went so much deeper than that. I could feel the Earth around me, beneath me, above me, and I could sense her quiet strength and calming tranquility.

The others had asked me why I was so indifferent toward what millions of fanatics all around the world called, "the plight of our Planet", but I couldn't be bothered to answer them. Misguided as I was by my own ego and Slade's well-concealed lies and cunningly shadowed half-truths, I couldn't bring myself to say anything more than a muttered declaration that I had better things to do with my time.

In truth, my time with Slade had made me forget my connection to the Earth, and I'd grown arrogant and hateful, easily angered and dangerously focused on my master's goals as if they were my own. If I had been in my right mind back then – if I had been the Terra I'd been when I had first met the Teen Titans, I probably would have tried to explain my perceived failure to save the Earth in more profound terms like, "this planet will survive much more threatening problems than the indifference and thoughtlessness of Man".

That sounds pretty deep doesn't it? Well, it was also very true.

What was the race of Man to a planet – what were their wars and their weapons of destruction, their machinations and their self-inflated, self-important egos? They were nothing; they were flies and the thoughts of flies, and what the Hell could a fly do to a Man? A million times more vast was the chasm between the Earth and the people who lived upon her. Their oil drilling was like a pinprick, their strip mining a scraping of the skin, their deforestation a violent but meaningless hacking away of hair.

Oh, don't get me wrong – I'm not saying that the Earth is indestructible; all I'm saying is that the ways of Men will destroy Men long, _long_ before this planet would be anywhere close to threatened and once humans had destroyed themselves, the Earth would be left to heal herself. It would take time, but the lifespan of a planet was so much longer than that of a human.

And so, perhaps a million years after we'd destroyed ourselves, all traces of our poisonous and dangerous practices would be nothing more than a distant phantom – remembered by none but I.

Because there was no doubt in my mind that I would still be here when the human race had gone the way of the Dinosaurs. I was one with the Earth no; the source of my power had consumed me in my last heroic moment.

As it should be.

It wasn't so bad though, when I tried to break down my situation. I was apparently immortal now as long as my body remained more or less intact; I could feel nothing, which meant I could have no fear of experiencing that nightmarish sensation of having an itch you couldn't scratch; and I _did_ have all kinds of time to take apart my life and realize how much of my time with Slade had changed and warped my mind. So much of my hatred for my old friends – yes, they had once, long ago, been my friends for a wonderful few days – and for the city they had sworn to protect hadn't been my own but Slade's – taught and imprinted into me from having only Slade as company for some of the most horrific months of my life. Now, I had time to find my innocence once more.

It was a precious thing, innocence – and I had regained mine through long, drawn-out, unhurried thought and self-judgement. It was bent, a little bruised, and even broken in some places, but it was there…and it was _mine_.

Not to say that I was innocent in any way, shape, or form…

Nah, perhaps a better way to say it would be that I had found my _conscience_ – that thing that I had cast aside for Slade, that non-physical sixth sense that would have told me that _everything_ I had done while serving him was wrong. Now, with darkness surrounding me, no powers to protect me, and with nothing but silence, there was no one to keep me company but myself, and in dissecting my life piece-by-painstaking-piece, I found the most brutally honest and ruthless judge and jury of all:

_Terra_.

Yes, with nothing but shadowed silence to answer my thoughts, _I_ became the worst judge of myself. There was no gaze that could pierce through my lies and excuses as thoroughly as my own. Interrogated and judged by anyone else, I could have easily bided my time and toughed it out because any living person would have to leave at some point, whether for food or family or even just for sleep, but there was always that _one_ special breed of interrogator – the one to whom time meant nothing. There was always that one interrogator who would just sit there and_ wait_…and stare straight at you with that serious, silent stare that said _you're transparent_. And they wouldn't leave until they were satisfied.

That was what _Terra_ was to me: the nightmare-interrogator. Under her unwavering, dispassionate gaze, my excuses burned themselves out, my lies became empty words, and my rage at failure became self-hatred.

Robin had been right when he so rudely implied that I'd been brainwashed; I just hadn't wanted to hear it. I was my own Mistress, so that meant I was with Slade by choice and _everything_ I did was by _my choice_. Who was Queen of _Terra-land_ but Terra? And yet, I'd traded my crown for chains when I stepped over Slade's threshold. My motives had been clean enough, I guess; I'd wanted desperately to be able to control my powers and he'd offered to help – told me he was the _only_ who would _want_ to help.

Lie one.

He said he'd _help_ me.

Lie two.

He said I'd be _free_.

Lie three.

He said so many things, made so many promises.

Lies, all.

I saw now that my willing bondage to that…that bastard had been so very unnecessary. I didn't need him when I had already unknowingly been Apprentice to the Earth. In hindsight, I saw that if I'd been more mature and embraced my all-too-real bond with the Earth, I could have avoided all of this nasty business.

Instead I ran.

Fearing what my fledgling powers could do if I made a mistake, I ran; I ran far and I ran fast when all I had needed to do was stop and take a look at what my _true_ mentor had always been trying to teach me. Patience. All I'd ever had to do was be patient, know myself and know my limits, and strive and push myself to be my best. Control would follow in time.

_God_, thought; _now I sound like Raven._

See how the eternal solitude and imprisonment I'd created was good for me? With nothing but time on my hands, I could learn the things the Earth had always been trying to teach me; I could search myself and gather up the scraps of my soul that I could have sworn I'd sold to Satan himself; I could piece myself back together and examine once again every sin I'd committed against those who I had once called _friends_; and I could finally experience the guilt that had eluded me for so long.

_Death was good._

"Ever the optimist, aren't you, Terra?"

So, that brings me back to where I started. Here I was enjoying the endless shadows that my past actions had awarded me, expecting to spend all of eternity trying to piece myself back to gather, when along comes the last person in existence that I ever wanted to see again, and not only does she invade the blessed silence of my body's final resting place, but she actually finds a way to penetrate the walls of my _real_ prison, joining me in the unfathomable depths of darkness and disturbing the peace I thought I'd have until the elements had finally worn away my body and erased the last physical reminder of who I was.

My physical eyes, of course, saw nothing because all I could do in _that_ place was hear, but in _this place_ – trapped motionless within a dark and shadowy otherworld, I finally had something other than the featureless darkness to focus on. It was at once a relieving and terrifying experience; relieving because while tranquil and patient introspection were good for me, they were just a tad boring after a while; and terrifying because, well…

If Raven could so easily invade my solitary prison when it rested firmly in a whole other plane of existence, who could tell what she could do to me while she was here? I couldn't feel anything in the outside world, but could I feel pain out here in this _otherworld_? I preferred not to test that theory. Like I said, this was the Titan into whose face I'd ground the most dirt, upon whose body I'd heaped the worst pain; there was no doubt at all in my heart that I was the cause of some very negative emotions for the indigo-haired mage. And while I couldn't deny that I deserved every ounce of it all, I also couldn't say that I was really looking forward to whatever actions her bad vibes would spawn.

And so we stood, she in her wide spot of light and I in mine; her face was blank, emotionless…just like Raven. _My_ face on the other hand – oh, my face was probably still moulded into a mask of concentration so intense it was straining; it was the look I'd had the last time I'd felt…well – _anything_. My hair flying around my face as my immense and awesome power surged through my body, giving the appearance of warm and golden light that radiated from deep within my soul – only, that bright glow wasn't all that warm; stone was very cold, after all, so why should I expect any different from stone-_power_? Then, there had also been the dirty, defiling, soul-tarnishing feel of my clothes – _Slade's slave-wear incorporated._

So, as I stared unblinkingly at my worst victim, I felt a realization come to me suddenly.

I was afraid of Raven.

But, simpler than that, I was _afraid,_ period. If I was dead, I had nothing to fear because no one could touch me – not Raven, not Beast Boy, not Slade…_nobody_. So, since it's become a general rule that the dead have no feelings, perhaps I was still alive after all.

The jury was still out on whether or not that was something to cheer about.

Raven finally moved, stepping closer to me but stopping just before her feet could cross over from her spot of light to mine, "so," she offered coolly, staring me straight in my eyes, "so, you _are_ in here somewhere."

_Yeah, I'm in "here"; still trying to decide if that's a good thing, though._

"Trust me," replied Raven, "it's a good thing, Terra." She sighed quietly, "Not many people get a shot at a second chance."

_Second chance? What does that – wait; you can hear me?_

Even when her features didn't change in the slightest, Raven still managed to convey a mild amount of her amusement to me; it must have been her eyes – those dark, dark eyes… "Yes Terra, I can hear you."

_Then go away,_ I thought;_ I don't want to talk to you._

This time, Raven actually _did_ smile; it was a small smile, but it showed me that she wasn't the cold, heartless harpy that I'd always taken her for. Oh sure, I'd seen her smile before – I'd even heard her laugh on some rare occasions – but it had always sounded so forced, like the half-demon only did it so she would seem more human to the others – so they would relax around her and not be afraid of the fact that she was partly a – well…a demon, I guess.

"I thought you would have been glad for the company, Terra," she shifted her stance, placing her hands on her hips as she glanced around at the darkness around us, "then again…" she mused, "seeing how you've been spending your time, I'm impressed with you to say the very least." She turned back to look at me, studying me as if for the first time, "I never would have thought of you as an introspective person."

_It's kinda easy to be introspective when you've got all of eternity and nothing to do._

"Very true," Raven conceded, nodding slowly, "but tell me," she crossed her arms and fixed me with that emotionless, penetrating stare, "why don't you want to talk to me?" She glanced off to the side as her bland, monotonous voice became thoughtful, "would you rather I go back to the Tower and send one of the others over? You wouldn't be able to answer them, but I suppose their voices might be quite a bit more comforting than mine."

_No,_ I thought; _I don't want to talk to _anyone_. I don't want to face anyone ever again._

"Oh?" Raven somehow managed to raise one eyebrow while the rest of her face remained set in stone. "And why would that be?"

I didn't need to think about my answer for that one; I'd had a very long time to think about this – weeks, maybe. _It's because I don't need you all to point fingers and tell me what a monster I am – what a horrible girl I've become; I already know what I did, and I have the remorse to prove it now._ I paused a second, hesitating as uncertainty gnawed at me. _You…you _are_ here to punish me some more, aren't you?_

Raven's face was blank once more, but I thought I could see something in her eyes…something familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Abruptly, she smiled and shook her head slowly, "no, no I'm not, Terra."

Well, shatter my body and call me gravel – what in the world was that? _Then why _are_ you here?_

Raven reached up and seemed to brush her hand across an invisible barrier that separated her from my spot of light, but she made no reply other than to do away with her smile.

I suddenly had the desperate urge to turn my head to look at the formless darkness that lay outside my spotlight, but – being a motionless statue as I was – I knew it was an exercise in futility. _What is this place?_

Raven shrugged casually as she stood outside my spotlight, her own shrinking around her, "for lack of better words, you could call this another plane of reality that coexists with our own." Raven backed up ever-so-slightly and gestured around her with one hand. "I must say, I'm surprised to find you here; I've never been able to meet anyone here."

Despite the fact that this was _Raven_ I was talking to, I couldn't help but find my curiosity piqued. _You've been here before?_

"Many times," Raven smirked minutely, "when I meditate, my mind usually ends up here."

I thought about that for a few moments. I remembered from my time with the Teen Titans that Raven had made it a point to meditate for several hours everyday without fail. And yet, I had never seen her here since I turned myself to stone. _Why did you stop meditating?_

"I haven't," Raven shrugged fractionally as she replied, "When I meditate, I'm usually in or on Titan Tower, which is about ten miles…_that_ way." She pointed somewhere behind me as a bored sounding laugh escaped her mildly amused expression. "This Astral world is a big place, Terra; you can't seriously believe that I could have seen you from the Tower when I wasn't even looking for you in the first place, can you?"

_No, I guess not,_ I agreed. _But then_, I hesitated; _what made you think to come and visit me?_

The violet eyed sorceress shrugged again, looking away in what looked like embarrassment, but I'd never seen her feel that way before. "I don't know," she explained lamely, "…I just had this hunch that you weren't dead; I can't explain it, but I had to prove to myself that you were gone, which – apparently – you're not."

_Right_, I grumbled silently; _I kinda wish I was, though_.

"Why is that?" Raven stepped up to my spotlight again, tracing one finger across the invisible wall that separated us, "as long as your mind remains alive, there is still hope for you. As soon as we find a way to free your body, your mind can return to it, and then you'll have your life back – sans Slade." She offered me the tiniest of encouraging smiles, and it really did a lot to lift my spirits because I knew that she rarely smiled for _anyone_.

_Yeah, right._ I was still dripping with sarcasm at her words, though, regardless of the feeling I was getting from being on the receiving end of one of Raven's rare genuine smiles. _Don't treat me like a kid, Raven; I know the others don't think they can do it. They gave up as soon as they left my funeral – I could tell from their voices._

Raven shook her head quickly, unaffected by my open and searing hostility. "That's not true, Terra; they haven't given up yet, but it's true that they haven't any idea what to do for you," she sighed wearily, "Beast Boy at least has the most ideas, but he's out of his element; every few days he'll come up with an idea and then he'll bring it to Cyborg because he's the smartest one among us, despite his prepubescent mentality. And then," Raven waved around with one hand vaguely, "then Cyborg will go off into a long, drawn-out explanation of exactly why Beast Boy's idea won't work – how we can't take a chip off of you and clone it because stone doesn't have any genetic material to work with…" she trailed off, finally sighing in exasperation, "it's all kind of aggravating, really."

_What?_ I felt a burst of anger for the dark mage when I heard those words, barely pausing to contemplate the fact that I could still feel anger. Oh yes, I was most definitely alive…

_What is so aggravating, Raven,_ I thought – _that the others care? That they're actually trying to save me?_

"No," she replied in that cool, collected way that completely threw off my anger, "that they only talk about it – and not very often I might add. All they've done is talk – like deep down, they all appreciate you more for your last act than for what you might do if we managed to free you. It's like they don't believe that you could have completely returned to the girl you'd been when we first met you. Of course," she paused to think a moment, "you aren't _really_ that same girl, but I'd hazard a guess that you'll be more careful who you trust in the future…am I right?"

I didn't reply to Raven's last words; I was still stuck on the implied meaning…they feared me? Well, that was unexpected – they'd proven that on my own I was nowhere close to equal to all five of _them_. The only way I could hope to beat them would be to get them alone, or in pairs at the _very most_.

A sudden, uneasy thought occurred to me. _How long has it been?_ I feared the answer. _How long has it been since my memorial?_

Raven looked down at her feet, "…three weeks." She looked up at me and I thought I saw some kind of emotion in those indigo eyes, but it was gone before I could be sure – sliding behind her trademark _"Raven"_ mask. "I would have come sooner, but I've been busy reading some books I have on permanent transformations like yours and I didn't want to come to you with nothing to offer."

I was surprised. I never expected that Raven would be the one to really take my situation seriously. If anyone, I would have expected Beast boy, but Raven was right – he was no scientist or magician; my problem was _way_ out of his league. _Then what do you have to offer_, I felt hope rise up within me, _why_ are_ you here?_

Raven found staring at her dark blue boots more interesting than meeting my unblinking eyes and it took her a few seconds to decide what she wanted to say. "I'm sorry, Terra." Her voice when it finally escaped her lips was so very quiet – so soft I almost didn't catch it, but when I at last understood what she'd just said, I felt a surge of shock shoot through me.

_Excuse me?_ I stared openly at my guest; it wasn't really like I could do much else in my statuesque position. _What in the world could _you_ have to apologize for?_

Raven glanced up into my face with the familiar emotionless expression, the jewel on her forehead glinting softly in the light from my spotlight. "Beast boy," she began carefully, her eyes darting everywhere, meeting mine for only brief seconds at a time, "…wasn't completely right when he said you had a choice – that you'd always had a choice."

She held up one hand palm out to forestall any interruptions that I might have tried to make. "While it's true that we all choose what course of our lives take, Beast Boy doesn't really understand how much the people around us can affect our perception of the choices we have."

I was sure my head would explode with confusion at her words but when it didn't happen, I just sighed mentally. _What are you trying to tell me?_

Raven looked away almost guiltily, "we may have given you a hand in making your choice to join Slade." She shrugged, still never completely meeting my gaze. "If _I_ had been a little more accepting of you back when we first met, if Beast Boy had been a little more forgiving back when you were first revealed as a traitor, or if I hadn't given you such a hard time…" she trailed off, waving one hand uncertainly, her eyes focused on some point in the past. "Beast Boy doesn't see how much he and I might have affected the way you saw the Teen Titans; because of the way we treated you, you probably saw us as a more demanding group of people than we really are, and _that _would have made your decision to join Slade all the easier to make."

She folded her hands together, interlacing her fingers as she looked up to finally stare intently into my eyes, unflinchingly meeting my stone gaze. "Do you see how we're all connected, Terra? None of us are truly independent entities; each of us depends on everyone around us in some way – if it weren't so, the number of choices before any one person would be infinite and, with no influence in the decision making process to make certain choices more attractive or others more repulsive, no one would ever be able to decide which course would be best." She paused in her explanation, "so I ask that you forgive me, Terra; forgive me for helping to push you towards Slade's line. If I'd known that my hostility would have resulted in this, I would have tried to be more understanding of your need to belong."

I was surprised to say the least. Raven was partly blaming herself for my betrayal of the team, almost as if she could have stopped me from joining Slade if she'd just been a little…_"nicer"_. As if Raven – emotion-challenged Raven – could have acted _any_ differently than she had.

_I can't blame you for not knowing what would happen, Raven – and neither should you. You couldn't have seen this coming and it's all in the past so let's start over. I mean, if I'd known where choosing Slade would lead me, I obviously wouldn't have done it either, but I didn't know so I chose him anyway._ I stared at Raven's calming expression, feeling my own mind relaxing. _If you really feel that you need it, I forgive you Raven – but as far as I'm concerned, you did nothing wrong._

Her eyes widened, "but if we'd been nicer about the fact that you couldn't control your powers completely, you wouldn't have run away from the Tower that first time, and Slade wouldn't have found you alone and convinced you that he was the only one who would help you – .

_Stop it!_

She looked up at the interruption then bowed her head respectfully. "I'm sorry."

Unexpectedly, I felt amusement ripple through my core. _You're forgiven, Raven – now drop it; aren't you the Titan who always says it's useless to dwell in the past?_

She cracked the tiniest of smirks, "right…" Raven looked down at her boots for a second and then glanced up to meet my eyes again, "can I promise you something?" She asked in a quiet, hopeful voice.

_Anything you want, Raven – it's _your_ promise to make, so shoot._ I was curious about what was going on in that head of hers.

She looked at me seriously, "if this works and we're able to get you free of this stone," she waved a hand vaguely around the two of us, "I want you to know that I will not give up on you." She smiled thinly to me, "no matter what the others may think, say, or do, I want you to remember this; _I_ will never abandon you again." She paused and looked down to stare at her boots again. "If you ever feel lost, Terra, don't be afraid to come to me – _especially_ if you know you need someone to talk to. And remember this," Raven's eyes seemed to harden slightly as she met my gaze once more, "I don't want you to be afraid that I'll turn on you when it gets hard because I won't – I don't want you to be _afraid_ of _me._ Understand?"

A nod was, of course, out of the question, so I opted for the mental acceptance. _Yeah, I do, Raven. _I laughed silently, _so we're true friends if this works?_

Raven shook her head slowly. "No, Terra; we're friends _now_," she paused to catch a stray thought, "I just want you to remember that you can lean on me if you need it; I'm not going to push you towards another Slade this time, Terra – do you understand?"

_Of course._ I thought about what Raven was trying to promise me. A friend – a _real_ friend – as long as she kept her word; and I knew Raven always kept her word. _Thank you, Raven. Now, how do you think we're going to get me out of here so we can have a slumber party or something?_

Raven's lips twisted into the smallest of amused smirks, but she shifted her weight from foot to foot uneasily. "Well, I'm not sure how to do it, but I have a hunch." She stared into my cold blue eyes, her confident and strong nature returning as she changed her focus. "Do you know what it means that your mind is still _here_? Do you have any idea what this means for _you_?"

The wait for her explanation was a little irritating. _No, I don't know so I hope you're about to tell me._

"Okay, let me explain –."

A loud, shrill beeping interrupted her, sounding from the darkness that surrounded us. It was a very familiar sound, and it made my heart sink as I realized that we would be working on _Raven's_ schedule. There would be no quick solution to my dilemma.

Raven smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, Terra."

Then, as she turned away from me, she faded away from this…astral plane, her spotlight dimming to black along with her. I heard the rustle of cloth and a sharp click, and finally Raven's voice, sounding from the shadows all around me.

"What is it, Robin?" She asked in a serious, bland voice – completely devoid of any of the friendliness or familiarity that had been there only moments earlier. It was more the Raven _I_ knew than the…creature I'd spoken with just now.

"There's trouble down at the Docks," Robin's quick and rushed voice wasn't a welcome sound; this was supposed to be a time for just Raven and me! Still, bird boy was still the leader of the team, and Raven _did_ have a job to do. "Pier 16," he continued, "we'll meet you down there."

"Right," Raven closed her communicator with a snap, and I heard that cloth rustle again – probably slipping her little communicator back onto her forever-crooked belt. "Terra," she began in a quiet voice, "don't worry – we'll finish this later."

And then she was off, her boots hitting the stone ground more quickly than when she'd come, fading away within only a few seconds.

And I was left standing there, the Queen upon her throne in a deserted cavern.

_Hm,_ I thought; _I guess I'll just wait here…_

I thought of Raven's last words to me. There was _hope_; she thought she might just know how to free me. I couldn't figure out what it might be, but seeing as how Raven was the first Titan willing to visit me, I couldn't help but want to trust her. I guess I'd finally found a _real friend_.

_Life_…was good.

* * *

**Author**: Okay, so this chapter was a little longer, but as always with my writing, I'm pretty sure it diverges from canon…but oh well – none of you know where I live, so I'll just keep going.

I WOULD like some kind of input from whoever's reading. I'm interested in this story, but if no one likes it, I'll just write it for my own amusement.

Read and Review, please. (Well, if you've gotten this far, you've already read, so just review now…you're half-way there!)


	3. Despair, Regret, Guilt

**Title: **Stone Cold Body, Warm Heart

**Rating:** I'd say PG-15.

**Spoilers:** Episode "Aftershock" and various other passing references to anything Terra-related

**Disclaimer:** The whole idea and related themes of the Teen Titans does not belong to me, it belongs to the Warner Brothers, so please – don't sue me…you'll be sorely disappointed.

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Despair, Regret, Guilt.**

Time.

I had a lot of it now that I'd been consumed by the Earth. But, no matter what Raven said, I would always feel that this was my just penance for turning so quickly to evil after the Titans had taken me in and trusted me with so much; their lives, their home…their _friendship_.

I don't suppose you'd be able to understand what Life had become for me, but if you ever found yourself kidnapped and tied to a chair with a blindfold on your eyes, I guess you would be getting close to what I was going through. Not very close, but you'd be on the right track.

I don't know who much later it was that the silence of my cavern was finally broken by footsteps once more; they were faint at first, but quickly grew clearer and louder as the owner approached me.

"Hey, Terra."

Beast Boy?

Now this was a surprise. I hadn't expected anyone but Raven to come and visit me when it was almost certain that I wouldn't be joining them in the land of the swiftly moving very soon. Raven thought "we" could get me out of my stone prison and back into the real world, but from what she said, and from the way she'd left, I could tell that this was going to be one of those long-term undertakings…months if not years before I'd feel the air on my face or the actual firmness of the Earth beneath me instead of just the constant thrum of Her heartbeat.

"I know I haven't been back here in a long time," the changeling's high voice paused, and I heard the crunch of loose pebbles beneath his feet as he fidgeted nervously. "But, I've been doing a lot of thinking."

Uh, oh. Those were never good words to start a conversation. I didn't think I wanted to hear this – no, scratch that. I _knew_ I didn't want to hear this.

"We had some good times, didn't we?" More crunching pebbles, "I remember all the fun we had, how well we worked together…" a sudden far-away, echoing _clak_, as if Beast Boy had just thrown a rock off into the distant reaches of my cavern. "I think I really could have fallen in love with you if we'd had more time; it was so great to hear you laugh, and you were so exciting to be around."

I felt a strange, ominous sense of foreboding come over me as I listened helplessly to my green friends words. I doubted he knew that I could actually hear him, so it was likely that what he was about to say was exactly how he felt in reality, unobscured by any form of concern or fear of what I would think if I heard. The fact that he was speaking in the past tense was just the first clue that I wasn't going to like where this was going.

"But it was all a lie, wasn't it?" Beast Boy's voice turned cold all of a sudden. "It was all an act – all of it!" There was an abrupt swish of cloth and a sharp scrape and skitter of a boot kicking against the gravel underfoot angrily. "You used us – you used me!"

As suddenly as it had come, Beast Boy's anger vanished – replaced by a sudden sadness.

He sighed quietly, "It really hurt, Terra. And you never even cared, did you? Not even when you broke free of Slade's control." He paused for only a moment, "your saving the city could have been as much to save your own skin as it was to save the people of Jump City, but we'll never know for sure, will we; you've already proven that you're a very good actress, so we won't know if you're going to betray us again." There were footsteps, and then Beast Boy's voice from farther away now. "As Titans, we can't risk freeing you because none of us really know who you are – none of us will be able to catch onto your game until it's too late. I mean, you even had Raven fooled until the end. She's barely left her room since we fought you and Slade, and when she does, she's even more quiet and creepy than usual. When you betrayed us, it changed her…she's not the same Raven we've known for all these years. We can't risk that happening again." There were another few footsteps, silence, and finally Beast Boy's voice again, filled with regret, sorrow, and nothing good. "Goodbye, Terra."

A final Burst of footsteps.

And he was gone.

My friend – my very best friend from my Titan days was gone – just like that.

I'm pretty sure I'd have cried if I could have, but of course I couldn't.

Statues don't cry.

* * *

**Author**: Okay, short chapter…just something to get my creative juices flowing…for something else. I'm interested in this story, don't get me wrong, but it isn't my main project right now. Maybe when the action starts up…


	4. Hope!

**Title: **Stone Cold Body, Warm Heart

**Rating:** I'd say PG-15.

**Spoilers:** Episode "Aftershock" and various other passing references to anything Terra-related

**Disclaimer:** All credit and ownership of Teen Titans the animated series belongs to Warner Brothers.

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Hope!**

The sound of Beast Boy's rapid footsteps had only just faded when another voice broke into my silent kingdom underground. _What the Heck? When did my tomb become party central?_

"Ignore him, Terra."

I heard another set of footsteps – closer this time – close enough that they could quite possibly belong to someone who had hidden in the shadows to watch Beast Boy this entire time. The quiet, steady sound drew closer to me – slowly, confidently, stopping only when it sounded as if they were about to step on me. For several long moments, I heard nothing more than the almost inaudible sound of someone's cool, composed breathing as whomever my latest guest was stood mutely in front of my stone body. Finally, my second visitor of the day broke the silence once more.

"Ignore him – because he doesn't know what he's talking about."

That now-familiar circle of light appeared just a few feet in front of me, and then a shadow-enshrouded figure was revealed within, quickly taking on definite shapes and colours to reveal the only Titan who could enter the realm in which my conscious mind now resided.

Raven took a few steps towards me, her spotlight following her as she approached the illuminated disc on which I stood. "Trust me, Terra," she raised a single finger and drew it across that same invisible barrier that had separated us the last time. "Beast Boy is hardly an expert on this sort of thing. And he doesn't speak for all five of us when he says the Titans don't trust you." Her tone was about as warm and friendly as I'd come to expect from her, which wasn't very much – but still, it was nice to know she was trying. "Whatever anyone says," she continued in a solemn voice, "no matter how badly any of them treat you, I want you to remember what I told you the last time I was here." She stared into my eyes intently. "I've promised not to give up on you, and I have every intention of keeping that promise."

_Thank you_, I thought. _I don't think I really deserve any more chances after what I've done, but thank you._

The blue-and-black garbed girl waved away my words. "Don't mention it," and then, as an afterthought, she added something else. "You're not the only one with a dark past, or a bleak future…" For a second Raven actually had this sorrowful look on her face, and I almost thought she was going to share, but I should have known better. "So," she changed the subject as if the sour look had never been on her face and her flawless, emotionless _Raven_ mask was instantly back in place. "Are you ready to try this?"

_Try what?_

"Try to free you from your flesh-challenged state of course," She stepped back from me, "what else did you think I'd say? It's why I'm here." A ghost of a smirk passed across her face so quickly I almost missed it. "What I was going to say before we were interrupted," she cast a short glare at the darkness behind her, "Was that you still have the power to free yourself from your rock sculpture if you really try – you're the only one who can, in fact."

_Excuse me?_ I thought hard about what Raven had just said. _I don't know if it's escaped your notice, Raven, but I've been trapped here for at least three weeks now; if I was capable of freeing myself from this, don't you think I would have tried it by now?_ I paused for a second as a thought came to me. _How long has it been now?_

A strange look overcame Raven's expression for a moment. For a few seconds, she looked almost, sad – no, not sad…

Embarrassed

Ashamed.

Well, that was certainly different, but she spoke before I could comment. "It's been another month or so since I last came here." She looked away, "I'm sorry I wasn't able to come by sooner, but there was…something I had to deal with."

_Don't worry about it,_ I thought. _There's no reason to be ashamed that you can't free me quickly; I knew it would take a while – you are, after all, a busy girl._

"Yeah," she nodded slowly, "yeah, I guess I am, but that's no excuse to leave you down here like I've forgotten you. I haven't, you know."

_I know._ This was the most personal I had ever seen Raven before, and it was actually starting to creep me out a little. For a wild second, I almost wished for the cold, aloof Raven that I was familiar with, but I pushed that thought aside. No, _this_ Raven was so much better, easier to understand, and harder to hate. I never wanted to hate her again.

Never again.

_So, what's new with the Titans? Any interesting things happen lately?_

"I guess," Raven shrugged casually. "Nothing really spectacular, but Mad Mod tried to take over the city." She looked away, "he really gets on my nerves with his arrogant schemes."

_Kinda like Slade?_

She shook her head, and I couldn't help but watch the way her violet hair waved in response, "No – he's not like Slade. Slade thought he was the greatest thing in the world for good reason; he wasn't right of course, but he had enough power and intelligence to make it seem justified. Mad Mod is just a grumpy old man who needs to know when to give up."

I thought about it, and I couldn't help myself any longer; I had to ask. _So what happened that has you so…uncomfortable? What did he do to make you so upset?_

"What?" Raven's eyes widened quite a bit at my question. "What makes you think…oh, never mind." She reached one hand up to run it through her hair. "Something did happen, but it wasn't Mad Mod. It had nothing at all to do with him." She looked away, "It happened a couple weeks ago, but I'm still trying to get over it."

I could see how troubling whatever it was had left my friend, and the urge to comfort her was surprisingly strong. _What was it?_

"I," she looked away, "There was this book I started reading – it had been on my shelf for a while." She glanced back at me. "It was a story about a Knight who fought a powerful Dragon a millennium ago. He beat the monster, but was trapped in the same book that I was reading by the Dragon's final curse."

Okay, so Raven had some troubles with a man imprisoned in a book. I didn't really think it warranted such mental turmoil on Raven's part, but she didn't seem like a sappy person to me, so I thought I'd let her continue. It might start to make sense soon.

"I was just coming down off an emotional high from an argument with Beast Boy." Raven looked away, "I didn't want to do something with them, and he lost control…he lashed out at me…called me creepy." She took a breath. "So, that's when Malchior started talking to me, and we just…hit it off."

_Malchior?_

"The man in the book." Raven smiled a thin smile. "Well, for a few days, I just never left my room – I was too enthralled with the trapped sorcerer. He was the first person I'd ever met who didn't look at me as if I was…creepy." Her fist clenched and I could feel the mild anger washing off of her. "But it all turned out to be a lie. He taught me how to release him from the book, and when I'd finally gotten it – everything about him changed."

_Oh,_ I knew how this one went…_ let me guess – the truth was you were actually helping the Dragon escape the Knight's curse – tell me I'm right._

Raven smiled bitterly, "Yeah – that's exactly it."

_So, this is what's got you down – that someone tricked you so easily?_

Raven looked up at me, studying my stone, immobile face. "Yes, I guess that's it…I mean, how could I have not seen it? There had to be some clue that I missed when we first started talking."

I couldn't help but laugh at the irony. I mean, here Raven was, berating herself about not seeing this…Malchior's true colours – and she was doing this all to me. To _me_! _Raven_, I thought. _You couldn't help it if he tricked you. I was duped just the same way – He showed me what I wanted to see, and made it all seem so good. But once he'd gotten what he could out of me, I was cast aside like garbage._

"Yeah," her eyes brightened a little as she looked up at me, "I'm sorry, I never really realized how easy it could be to fall for pretty lies – not until I fell for them myself. I never really thought I could fall like that – how simple a tool it is for the evil forces we fight against."

_Like Malchior_.

"And Slade," she agreed, nodding slowly. There was something different about her now – now that I was taking the time to really look. She was looking at me with…something almost like respect. "I do respect you, Terra," her sudden words made me realize I'd been thinking loudly enough for her to hear. "I'm afraid I didn't always, but that's changed a lot over the past little while." She smiled thinly, "it's taken me a while to see it, but you're actually a very good person. You just…haven't had the greatest luck when it comes to knowing who to trust."

From anyone else, I might have taken that as an insult, but I knew Raven didn't mean it in an insulting way – to her, it was a simple fact, and I had too often reacted with anger when she spoke so bluntly.

"But enough about that," Raven waved one hand, as if she'd gotten over it. She clearly hadn't – not yet. But she would, eventually. "Let's talk about you."

_Yeah, okay._ I let the matter drop. I wouldn't talk anymore about Raven's personal life now, but if she was still depressed the next time I saw her, I wasn't going to be able to stop myself._ You think I can free myself, and I'm not so sure about it. What makes you think I have the power to break myself out when I've been standing here for two months?_

That seemed to take the wind out of her sails – but only for a moment. I would never go so far as to say she was excited because Raven very rarely got excited – about anything –, but clearly, she had a lot of…enthusiasm…for her idea.

"I've already thought about that problem," the violet-eyed girl raised both hands to that invisible wall again. "You see, I noticed it when I was first here," she hit the barrier with one hand, creating a short _thok_ kind of sound. "Normally, minds are completely free to move as they wish in this world, but something's stopping you from moving around here." She hit the wall again, "something's blocking your powers from working."

_Like what?_ I was a little sceptical of Raven's suspicions. _My subconscious? Maybe you want to pull a little Freud on me – tell me how I can't get free because part of me doesn't _want_ to get free? Because I don't want to face any of you?_

Raven's lips twitched into a ghostly smile and I had the distinct feeling that I'd been set up. "Well, I was actually considering something else, but now that you mention it…that's an interesting conclusion you've jumped to." She tilted her head slightly as she studied my stone face, "_Are_ you holding back?"

_Of course not,_ I replied immediately; _why would I want to stay here? Why would I hold myself back?_

Raven's attempt at a smirk became all-too-real as her fingertips traced across the transparent wall between us. "Are you _sure_?"

I was about to repeat my previous words, but then I stopped myself; I _was_ holding back. I'd known before that I couldn't face the Titans, but I hadn't realized I was so afraid of the very idea that it had extended as far as locking my powers away, unconsciously ensuring that I stayed imprisoned as a statue for a very long time – long enough for at least Robin and Beast Boy to be long dead; I didn't know exactly how the others reacted to time. Cyborg could probably live forever since he was half-machine, Raven was half-demon so I hadn't a clue how that worked, and it was the same problem with Starfire. But, I definitely knew that the other two were human, so it was inevitable that they would someday die.

I definitely didn't want to face the Titans because I knew that they would never believe that I was _truly_ sorry for anything I'd done. None of them could call me anything but enemy now, so why should I even try?

But then…

Raven's words floated back to me from my memory:

'_Trust has to be earned…I'm sorry, Terra…I will never abandon you…'_

'_Beast Boy doesn't speak for all of us…'_

'_I will never abandon you…'_

'_No matter what the others say…'_

'_Never abandon you…'_

'_No matter what anyone may think…'_

'_Never…abandon…'_

There was at least _one_ Titan who could learn to trust me once more – and as luck would have it, it was the one Titan whose trust meant the most to me – the one Titan whose defeat had actually hurt me when I betrayed them all. The others may turn their backs on me, but I had Raven. Because of what I'd done, because of the insults and contempt and hate that I had reserved just for her, Raven had absolutely no reason to trust me and yet, despite the multitude of reasons she could have come up with to leave me here in my prison to erode, she was trusting me all the same.

And I wanted to thank her for it – in the _real_ world. I wanted to thank her for it with words, with a hug, a laugh…a smile – anything, darn it! I wanted out of this Godforsaken cavern!

_No_, I finally thought to Raven. _I'm not holding back. I want out._

Raven's smile turned a little mysterious – a little friendlier, but no less enigmatic. "Good," she replied, "Then that just leaves my idea – want to hear it?"

I felt a tiny surge of impatient anger. _Don't tease me, Raven._

"Okay," the sorceress' smile remained unchanged but her tone seemed to soften, shying away from the playful superiority she'd had only seconds earlier. "Tell me the last thing Slade did when you were fighting him."

I tried to think back. _Slade attacked me,_ I remembered; _he attacked me when I thought I'd finally beaten him. He grabbed me by the shirt, yelled at me, and then he tried to use his stupid Neural Interface to shut me down. I fought it,_ I whispered silently; _I fought it so hard – pulled so much of my power in to fight him that when I finally won, it had nowhere to go but out – and I collapsed the rock beneath us._

Raven's smile shrank just a little, but she remained the same. "There we have it, Terra. A parting gift from our good friend Slade; he was probably trying to shut down your powers with his Neural Interface – looks like it worked too. It seems that he _did_ manage to shut you down after all. His neural interface must have kicked in when you focused your powers on stopping the volcano – your suit's all stone now, if that interests you.

_It doesn't really,_ I replied; _but how can his neural interface be stopping me if it turned to stone with me?_

Raven shrugged, "I'm not entirely sure, to be honest – but it's the only thing I can think of that makes sense; the only thing I can think of that could put up a barrier like this," she knocked again on the wall that stood between us. "It's possible that Slade's last command caused the interface to fuse permanently with your body – just like he said. And then, when your powers consumed you and turned you to stone, the interface you wear may have triggered and locked your mind and body in a kind of stasis. It's left you trapped here," the violet-haired girl gestured at the formless, endlessly dark space around us.

_So where does that leave me?_ I stared at her as silently as a Sentinel as she stared straight back; _you can't switch it off if it's made of stone, so we're back to square one, aren't we?_

Raven shook her head slowly, calmly. "Not quite, Terra - we know how it works now." She paused, thinking her next words through carefully. "If we can destroy the interface and all its links to your nervous system, your mind should naturally retake control, and you'll be able to return to your natural form.

I decided to be difficult just for old times' sake; _how do you know _this_ isn't my natural form? How do you know the Earth hasn't simply taken back what's hers?_

In truth, I was scared – utterly terrified.

But I wasn't afraid of the possibility of Raven being wrong…I dreaded that she was _right_. I was also afraid to put my hope in something that sounded far too good to be true. I didn't want to put my trust in Raven only for her to be incapable of following through on her promise. It was never a question of whether the pale girl was truly willing or not; I knew now that she and I had come to a…understanding of sorts. Raven and I had begun to rebuild the friendship we'd once had, and it was looking to be one of the better decisions I have made in my life, but there was still a part of me that doubted…that feared it wouldn't last. That Raven was doing this simply out of pity was a thought that had occurred to me on more than one occasion since she first set foot in my cavern.

She only smirked a ghost of a smile. "Oh right, I never realized how close a relationship you shared with the Earth. Of course, if you don't feel like you deserve your freedom for doing what was right in the very end and for realizing where you went wrong with your life, then I'll leave you be. But," her smirk grew just a little at one corner, "You can't fool me – we both know that _you_ want this. Whether the Earth wants you to be free, well…we'll just have to let her decide, won't we?" She paused, stepping back a pace to take in my stone-locked body, "in fact…if I were any judge, I'd say you almost want this as much as I do."

_What?_ I couldn't seem to wrap my head around that one. _How could you possibly want my freedom more than I do?_

"Because," Raven leaned against the barrier between us, "Because _you're _the only one here who hasn't forgiven you for anything you've done while _I have_, and I'm more than willing to try and give you another chance because – believe it or not – you really were – _are_ a good friend." She looked away for a heartbeat before turning back to face me seriously. "So," she began quietly, "do you want to do this?" She spread her hands with a faint and oddly reassuring smile.

_Do…_ I asked incredulously; _do – what do you think you can do? You still haven't told me how you think you can stop Slade's neural thingie from blocking me._

Raven's faint smile turned mysterious once again and seemed almost…amused – playful even – but no; it had to be just my imagination. "Oh, I have a new trick or two up my sleeve, Terra – that is, if you're interested in the prospect of freedom from this." She waved a hand around in a vague gesture.

I would have laughed at the blue-cloaked girl's attempt at humour, and despite the fact that I couldn't, it felt good. It seemed like I could feel a smile stretching across my face, but I knew _that_ at least was nothing more than my imagination. _Yes_, I replied at last;_ I'm interested in freedom, Raven._ I knew I didn't sound very enthusiastic – I was still a little sceptical of both Raven's ability and her intentions. _That is, if you can keep your promise and put up with my attitude._

Raven nodded once but made no reply as her smile faded and she studied me with that unnerving, clinical scrutiny once more; she obviously realized it was pointless to again promise her trust to me when she'd already done so – it was a waste of time that could be better spent – say, working to free the trapped girl. "Well," she began at last, "After talking to Cyborg about how this Neural Interface is supposed to work, I've been practicing my powers with renewed purpose." She stepped back a little and raised her voice – much more comfortable with this new, unemotional, impersonal topic. "As you know, I can use my powers to dismantle devices – if I can get my focus tight enough. Now that I know how the interface is connected to you, I've been practicing with bigger but similar templates." She paused for a moment to gather herself.

"I started big," Raven finally continued, "pulling steel cables through dark mazes, and then I gradually worked my way down to ripping thread out of clothing without damaging the fabric until I was finally able to hold a pair of pants together while slipping its threads out through their own holes." The sorceress nodded her head slowly, "Of course, the filaments that link the Interface to your body are a lot smaller and woven through many more complex pathways, but it's the same principle; as long as I can keep my focus and take my time, we should be fine."

_Wouldn't want to damage your template, would you?_ I couldn't help but be a little hostile at her words. I mean, she was comparing me to de-threading a pair of jeans?

Raven only smiled that aggravatingly mysterious smile, "no, Terra – no I wouldn't," she agreed without any sign of hostility that would normally have been her response to my words.

_So,_ I considered Raven's idea; _you think you're ready to take on Slade's technology?_

Raven's expression seemed to harden into that cold, impassive mask that I was so used to. "There's only one way to find out, isn't there?" She spread her hands in front of her, "but in the end, it's your call. So…can you trust me?"

My answer to that was without hesitation or doubt; _yes, Raven – I trust you. If you think you can do this, I'll believe you; I'll believe _in_ you._

Raven nodded once, "thank you, Terra." She looked like she wanted to say more but stopped herself before she could, "So, let's get started."

I offered her a mental laugh. _What's with you and this "we" complex? This is gonna be all you; I can't really do anything from in here…_

Raven shook her head, her eyes never leaving mine. "It'll make _me_ focus better knowing that you believe that I can help you out of this." Her pale violet hair bounced ever-so-slightly as she spoke, her head moving gently with her words. "If you're helping me like that, you won't be having any kind of erratic thoughts to distract and help me make mistakes."

Oh – I understood now. _Then consider yourself supported. I believe in you, Raven. _I watched the grateful smile cross the pale-skinned mage's face with a mixture of respect, admiration, and hope. _How long should this take?_

Raven looked down quickly and spoke to the ground, "As long as it takes." Her shoulders slumped a lot. "I'm sorry, but Slade's Neural Interface isn't the simplest piece of technology around – it's a very complex system of the microfilaments that I told you about, Terra. And," she looked up into my eyes once more, "I've gotta say, it's going to take quite a bit of concentration and time to figure out where the filaments end and where you begin. I'm a little worried that I might cut too far to one side when I'm taking it apart."

_Fair enough_, I replied. _I hope you're prepared to take your time then. I have no problem waiting for you to finish the job; it's not like I have anywhere else to be._

Raven smirked imperceptibly, "No, I don't suppose it is. Well," she glanced around at the endless darkness that surrounded us in this other-world. "I'll leave you to your thoughts while I set up my things." She bowed her head and vanished from my sight, leaving me standing alone in my formless prison of depthless shadows.

I heard a long sigh from directly in front of me, the rustle of cloth, a whisper of close movement, and then silence.

"I'm sorry about this Terra, but I'm going to have to meditate while I do this, so you know what that means." Raven's cool, calm voice was suddenly drifting up from below me – lower than where her head normally was. She was sitting in front of my body in the cavern, I realized. "I know you sometimes found my chanting annoying," there came the sound of a zipper being opened, followed by a sharp click of wood on stone. "But," the girl continued, "You're going to have to learn to live with it."

There was the tiniest scratch and a bursting hiss; a match striking. "I'm lighting some incense," Raven explained for me, "I usually only use it when I've had a particularly emotionally stressful day, but it's actually meant to help me focus, so it should help here anyways."

She struck another few matches, each sound coming to me from a different direction. It seemed like Raven was surrounding me with burning incense or candles; probably both.

Of course, stuck as I was in my throne of light amidst the sea of shadows, I couldn't really appreciate the full effect of the scene my reconciled friend had laid out. It was probably a moving display, made even more so by the silence in which we were shrouded.

"Okay," Raven's voice came from right in front of me now, at a bout the same height as my eyes. Chances were good that she was levitating in her usual lotus position right now, getting ready to begin meditating. "Just relax, Terra…let's begin." She took a slow, deep, deliberate breath and released it slowly, remaining completely silent except for her breathing. "Find your center, and focus…"

I followed her instructions as well as I could, reaching for that calm place in the deepest, most rarely visited corner of my heart. It was a place to which I hadn't been in a very long time. In all my months with Slade, training, plotting the downfall of my friends, never had I felt the need to stop and be still as acutely as this. It was actually kinda nice – sitting and releasing all thought from my mind – if only for this single moment. It was relaxing.

Finally, after an eternity in silent darkness, a silence so deep it was deafening, clearly but quietly spoken words floated to me in my shadowy prison, and I found myself drawn along in my mind, following my friend's lead – as if I'd meditated with Raven a thousand times when in reality I'd only done it once – and half-heartedly at that.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…" Raven paused. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

Unexpectedly, I found the exact same chant passing through my own lips in the fantasy world my mind had conjured for me – the one that showed me and Raven meditating together on the rooftop of Titan Tower. Without even meaning to, I was following Raven's lead and focusing solely on that peaceful, sacred place in my heart. If I could have breathed, my breaths would be slow and deep – silent so as not to distract my companion. _Strange that I'd follow Raven so quickly – so eagerly_. It wasn't as if we'd ever been the best of friends, sharing the experiences of our lives without hesitation or fear of what the other would think. Heck, I don't think we were even very far past the status of "acquaintances". Our rivalry had been epic to say the least, if a little lacking in drama.

A sudden tremor of sensation broke into my thoughts as a feeling of heat enveloped my whole body. For one agonizing instant, I felt pain – _so much pain_…as if every hit the Titans and Slade had ever dealt to me had returned all at once, compelling me to shriek myself mute with the excruciating Hell of sensation.

_Ah – GOD!_

I felt a tremendous, stabbing ache in my shoulder, like I'd been hit by a wrecking ball. Cyborg's fists were a lot stronger than I'd imagined – I'd never felt a blow so Earth-shattering.

Then, I was struck by an incredible, boiling heat under my feet, coming within a single hair's breadth of incinerating my legs entirely. Starfire didn't call them _Star bolts_ for nothing I guess. She'd disintegrated every rock platform I tried to form, displaying such accuracy and focus that I'd never before seen in her. Was this what each of her enemies saw – the vengeful, violent side of the normally carefree, eternally youthful soul that was Starfire of Tamaran?

A dozen aches and pains returned to me in a single instant, each created in that last confrontation with the Teen Titans – my _friends_ – and each conjuring up its own memory to go with it, facing me with the undeniable fact that I had wasted my Power serving the wrong beliefs, the wrong _morals_. My body was aflame with brilliant, shining, glorious, and pure agony, cleansing my soul in the most atrociously painful way imaginable.

Stuck in my standing, spread-eagled position – eyes open and seeing nothing – I almost cursed Raven for freeing me to this unbearable sensation, but then I felt it; the last distinct pain that surrounded me served as a reminder that it was my own fault that I had suffered through this punishment the first time. My choices had led me to it.

Heck, I'd all but demanded it of the Titans by my attempt to annihilate them.

I'd spat in their faces and expected to get away with it?

I _was_ just a kid…

That's all I'd ever been.

_A biting coldness enveloped me in a tight, stifling pocket of bone-chilling terror and empty solitude._ For a single instant, my memory remained blank, but then an image flashed to the fore of my mind and I remembered.

Raven herself had caused this one.

She'd lifted me up off the ground, holding me helpless within coils of inky black energy as the rest of her unfathomable power manifested itself into a monstrous, crimson-eyed bird – a _Raven_, unsurprisingly – composed of shadows so deep it would make the Underworld seem neon-lit. Her wings snapped out, seeking to further surround me – suffocate me – and her beaked head had drawn near, diving in for the kill. And Raven herself had stood on the street below, watching and controlling her Power with cool satisfaction.

I had only ever seen Raven use this much of her Power once before, and it hadn't been directed at me.

I now wished it never had been.

She and I had been standing side-by-side under a falling Titan Tower, working desperately – stubbornly - to reverse what Slade's robotic earthmovers had done. Standing as close to her as I had been at the time, I could feel the energy cascading away from her as she had thrown everything she could, everything she had, everything she _was_ straight up at the falling rock – all four billion tons of it.

Feeling so much raw power aimed squarely at me had been a much more awe-inspiring and terrifying experience. It had all too clearly driven home the fact that – in my desperate haste to find a place where I belonged, a home where I would feel wanted – I had once again chosen the wrong place to stand…

And I had chosen the wrong people to cross.

My words when I'd taken them on one by one had been so superior, so arrogant, so infantile…

So wrong.

The Teen Titans weren't weak. They weren't pathetic. They weren't children…

And to think it had taken my own destruction to see it.

_I'm_ the one who was a weak, pathetic child…all this time, and I never saw it.

But even after Raven's incredible display against me, I still refused to believe…

Even as that infinite darkness had descended upon me, the only thought I could conjure was that I had to return to Slade. _He'd_ help me…_he'd_ always said he'd be there for me.

_Lies._

All lies.

How could I have been so blind, so stupid? To live with the Titans for days as a confused kid, and then for months as Slade's little pet spy and still not realize that _this_ was where I should be – that _this_ was home? Ridiculous. I should know myself better than that.

Too bad I didn't.

I knew myself better _now_, though – that was something at least. Would I turn my back on the Titans again? Maybe. If they couldn't be men enough to forgive me when I had remorse as deep as an abyss, who needed them? But would I go back to Slade?

_Never_.

Would I ever again think that I was the greatest thing alive?

_Never._

Would I ever turn my back on _Raven?_

_Never again._

It was a bit of a surprise to realize that I had so quickly embraced this friendship that was rapidly blossoming between the violet-haired girl and I. I mean, I still had all this guilt of having cast aside our first attempts at friendship as if they were nothing more than the air I breathe, nothing more important than used tissue, but somehow that was only serving to make me want even more for this latest attempt to work.

Maybe I wasn't such a lost cause after all.

Maybe Slade's poison hadn't completely infected my heart and soul.

With a start, I abruptly realized that not only had the overwhelming pain suffusing my body ceased its unbearable torment, but Raven's chanting had fallen silent and the only sound I could now hear was the harsh rasp of the Titan's panting breaths. Wow.

I didn't think Raven's power had any limits, but I guess I was wrong. Either that, or slipping Slade's Neural Interface bodysuit from my body was proving to be more difficult than Raven had first anticipated. I sighed motionlessly in my stone prison._ Figures…_

But – something else…

It took a few moments for me to pinpoint what the sudden tingle along my leg was, but I quickly discerned the sensation of smooth, ice-cold granite under me, chilling the sole of my bare left foot to the bone. Distantly, I wondered where my sock and boot had gone to, but the fleeting worry passed as I became focused on the unbelievable feelings on my foot. I felt a breeze running along my foot, kissing my skin with cool air, refreshing and caressing my toes and ankle.

But no further.

_Oh my Gosh…_

I probed again with my mind and felt my spirits rise when my observations didn't change. I couldn't move it, but I could feel my foot.

I could feel my foot!

"Well?" Raven's breathless voice broke into my stunned thoughts. "Did it work?"

A spot of light flickered to existence in front of me, vanished, and then reappeared…shuddering for a moment before stabilizing and allowing a shadow to coalesce into the familiar shape of Raven – Teen Titan – standing motionless within the spotlight. She'd completely removed her cloak, leaving the grey-skinned girl clad only in her night black leotard and ever-present – but impractical – yellow belt. Her breathing was deep and slow, but from the beads of sweat that were just rolling down her face in thin rivulets of moisture, I could tell it was a forced calm. Raven was only just beginning to get her breathing under control, and if her jittery entrance was any indication, she'd used up a _lot_ of her Power just to release my foot from Slade's control.

"Terra?" She stared at me, her eyes holding a singular intensity, a _focus_ that her body had lost in the time since I'd last seen her.

_Yeah,_ I finally replied. _It worked – I can feel my foot._

Raven's shoulders slumped at my thoughts. "I had hoped to get more in our first session," she raised her hand up to lean against the invisible barrier that surrounded my stone-encased body in this dark, borderless expanse – separating her from me. Lifting her violet-eyed gaze to meet my stony eyed stare, she sighed wearily. "I'm sorry, Terra – but I can't do anymore today." She shook her head quickly, her image flickering and warping momentarily as her focus shook with her waning energy. "Even talking with you here is a strain on my powers, so I'm going to have to go." She smiled tiredly, "But I'll be back."

She faded out of the _other_world in which I was trapped, and I could hear her moving to gather up her things silently. _You're not really much of a talker are you, Raven?_

Finally, all was silence and I listened to the cavernous, deafening _nothing_.

"I promise."

Raven's footsteps echoed across the enormous chamber for only a moment before diminishing to silence.

_Take your time,_ I called out, knowing she probably didn't hear.

_I'll just be listening to the Heartbeat of the Earth…_

* * *

A/N: Well, it was a long time coming, but here we are…a reason to Hope.


	5. Bad News, Good news

**Title: **Stone Cold Body, Warm Heart

**Rating:** I'd say PG-15.

**Spoilers:** Not really very much for this chapter

**Disclaimer:** All credit and ownership of Teen Titans the animated series belongs to Warner Brothers.

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Bad News, Good News.**

Okay – you know how Raven was able to free my left foot from this stone prison?

Now, remember how excited I was to see and experience that little ray of hope?

Well, that excitement got old pretty fast.

Yes, I had my foot now and don't get me wrong – I'd be leaping, dancing, singing with glee at it if I could. It was a great feeling to know that Raven's way was working, but then the impatience set in a little too quickly for my taste.

Now that I knew I could eventually be freed from this stone prison of mine, I was starting to get a little anxious to feel some of the things that I'd been missing for all those months I'd been trapped so deep beneath the surface; the things that I'd taken for granted, like sitting, seeing, and…and _talking_ – with my voice.

Things like eating ice cream, or just taking a calm, peaceful walk with my friends in the park. Even sitting quietly and staring out at the bay or the sky would be something I would treasure when I was finally freed. No longer would I see such things as the boring moments I shunned, but as the times of tranquility and reflection that they offered.

To feel the wind on my face again, tossing my hair wildly – freely – to feel my boots pounding on the Earth as I ran free again across wide, open plains and canyons. Oh, how I began to long for those simple little things that I'd so easily taken for granted as a flesh-and-blood runaway; the smell of wildflowers, the taste of water, for God's sake!

Oh, what I wouldn't give to _feel_ alive now that I knew what it was to _be _alive. For once.

Before my thoughts could go any further down that path – a train of thought I'd boarded far too often lately – I heard the slow, sharp sound of confident boots echoing in my isolated cavern. My heart leapt at the sound, and I felt hope rise up within me like a rocket. _Raven! She's come to finish it!_ The footsteps stopped really close to me, and then came a single statement in a voice that chilled my stone-frozen heart.

It couldn't be…

"Hello, Terra."

_No…_

Slade.

My mentor, my self appointed Master and Teacher. My Betrayer. I would have lashed out at him if I could. I wouldn't have given him a single moment to speak or even gesture. Every word he spoke was a lie, every gesture an illusion. He was not to be trusted, because everything he did, he did only for himself. He took a great many lives in the name of his secret, private war against the world, and he'd irreparably scarred countless others. And in my blind, stupid immaturity I'd freely chosen to help him. Right now, I would have liked nothing more than to throw some very big rocks at the smug, arrogant masked man.

But, unfortunately, my hands were tied.

"So I hear Raven's been trying to free you, Terra." His voice was calm, smooth as polished silver and as slick and chill as ice, "A pity she won't be able to help you before…"

_What are you going on about, and how in the World did you survive?_

"The next time you see her," of course he couldn't hear me, and I suspect if he had, he wouldn't have answered anyways. "I want you to deliver a message for me." He paused, and I heard the creak of his gauntleted hand tightening into a fist. "You can tell that blind, insignificant pawn that her time is coming. _Soon_."

Even as I heard the footsteps moving away, I felt terror grip my heart. But why – I had beaten Slade, hadn't I? In the last moments that I'd breathed air, I'd cast aside those cursed chains and reclaimed my crown. So why was I still afraid of him? He had no power over me – I had proven that.

"Oh, and Terra – one more thing…"

Huh? What more could he possibly have to say?

"If you should believe anything I ever told you, it's this: no one will accept you…not if they know the truth. If the Titans should ever discover the truth behind Andrew's death, you will find out how cruel and unforgiving the world really is for people like us." After delivering his words of wisdom in that calm, collected, leisurely way that was all Slade, I heard his footsteps growing ever more distant.

Oh right – I felt my heart sink like a granite mill stone. That's why I was still afraid of him.

I may have proven at last that I could beat the tar out of Slade with my powers, but only a few words off his serpent's tongue and I was already undone, my defiance shattered and scattered to the wind. Such was the sheer force of my old Master's sharp words and dominating will.

And even as the walking ghost faded from my ears, his footsteps resonating in the enormous cavern in the heart of the Earth, I felt myself being drawn back through memory to a time when my biggest worry had been what game to play with my brother.

* * *

**(((Flashback)))**

"I mean, come on, Terra – you can't just sit around waiting for the world to figure itself out. You've got to go out there and get something done, make something of yourself."

The tall blonde boy kicked absently at the ground as he followed a sullen, brooding girl only a handful of years his junior. She turned with a frown marring her pleasant, youthfully innocent features "Who asked you, Andrew?"

The elder of us two didn't back down from me. "I'm just saying you need to get your life together – figure out where you want to be when you grow up."

That was my brother – always the level-headed and sensible one of the two of us. He'd had his whole life figured out by the time he was my age. He was going to be a chemical engineer for a few dozen years before settling down to teach. Maybe he'd be able to fit a wife and two-point-five kids somewhere in between but if not, he wouldn't be heartbroken.

Me? I just wanted to be a kid.

"I'm twelve years old, Andrew." I turned back and kept walking up the uneven path that wound its way up the mountain we were hiking. "Don't you think I should maybe, you know, get to have a childhood while I can?"

We'd come up here to get away from the stress of home for a little while, but I guess the stress just wouldn't take a hint.

His tone softened, easing away from the parental tilt it had taken. "I'm not saying you need to get all serious about life now, Ter." I hated that nickname. "All I'm saying is that you should start thinking about it so that when the time comes to decide, you'll know where you want to be. You don't want to get swept away in the endless sea of choices that are out there. Narrow it down now, while you still can."

Nodding slowly, I ran my hand over a boulder that was bigger than our house, drawing little swirls and lines across the moss-lined face with the strange and wonderful new gift I'd discovered only a few months earlier. From where we were standing, the boulder hadn't changed at all, but my power let me see through the moss to the stone surface underneath, and the abstract designs were etched cleanly into the grey rock.

Andrew had no idea what I'd done – didn't even know about my power.

Looking back on that time, I shook my head sadly – things had been so simple back then; graduate high school, maybe get a college degree, get a decent job…

And then Andrew just had to go and say the one thing that would always set me off after that day – set off the chain reaction that was my spectacularly disastrous life.

"Besides," he kicked distractedly at a loose pile of stones, sending them scattering across the path like frightened beetles. "You wouldn't want to give Mom and Dad the impression that you were a –." He cut himself off suddenly, but I knew where he was going.

And where I'd let my parents get away with it I'd be damned before I let my brother put me down.

"The impression that I'm a what?" I froze in my tracks and slowly turned to face him, a fire in my eyes that neither Mom nor Dad had ever seen. And neither had my older brother.

Andrew took a hasty step back from me, raising his hands apologetically. "Nothing, Ter – I'm sorry."

"No, go ahead." I felt my right hand curl into a fist, "Go ahead and say it." I'd heard it so often from Mom and Dad. They praised him for having it all together so early in life, and they always shoved me in as an afterthought; _Not like Terra_, they'd say, dismissing everything I was because I wasn't like their perfect little _mini-Dad_. Of course I wasn't him! I was Terra, their _daughter_. I played chaos to Andrew's order, I destroyed the perception that he created of what children were supposed to be like – it was the younger sibling's thing. But I was still their flesh and blood, and I'd given up hoping they'd realize that. "Say I'm a bum, a disgrace, a waste of Mom and Dad's time and money – it doesn't matter. It's not like I haven't heard it all before."

_But never from you._

I'd never gotten that kind of treatment from Andrew. I'd always been safe with him. He didn't treat me like I was supposed to turn out to be like him. He offered me advice from what he'd experienced so far in his life where Mom and Dad tried to shove that same experience down my throat. If I refused to follow advice, I'd accept the consequences – that was just who I was. But Andrew had always been the only one aside from my friends who understood that.

Until now.

I glared coldly at him, his place in my heart slowly burning before my eyes. "I always thought you were different from them. I guess I was wrong." Without waiting for a reply I turned back to keep climbing. We'd finish this stupid hike, but we could do it in silence for all I care. And separately. If I wasn't with him, maybe he wouldn't hear the sound of my heart breaking.

And to think I'd been so happy about this hike this morning. I'd been looking forward to this trip for weeks.

"Terra," apparently, Andrew couldn't take a hint. I didn't want to hear his voice right now. "Look," he started.

I didn't let him finish. I just stopped climbing again. "No, Andrew. Get one thing into your head – I don't care what Mom or Dad think of me anymore. I'm done trying to impress them with grades and accomplishments." I didn't turn to look at him; he'd lost the privilege, just like our parents. They were lucky if they got a single glimpse of my eyes in a week, and he was _just like them_. "And I'm done with you. You know exactly how my life's been, Andrew. You've seen my grades; you know all the science fairs I've been to, you've seen all the things I've done." My other fist was now just as tightly clenched as my right. "My project came in fourth at National, Andrew. _National_ – do you have any idea how big that is? Mom and Dad would use my medal as a Goddamn paperweight if I ever let them touch it, but _you_ – you have some first-place trophy for State Track And Field and they treat it like it's the fucking pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."

I could feel Andrew's frown at my choice of language. I didn't care, and neither should he – he taught me those words. Him and his parents.

"I know, Terra." He confessed, and I let him speak to my back; he knew I was listening. "Aw, cripes…I've ruined everything now, haven't I?"

I turned my head at the guilt in his tone. "No shit – did you just realize that all on your own?" I felt my rage coiling tightly within me like a poisonous snake, just waiting for an opening to leap through and strike.

"I'm sorry, Terra – I didn't mean…"

"Then why the Hell would you say it?" I whirled and felt my rage snap and an incredible energy exploded out from within me, blasting out from my feet to the rocky path below me and the mountain beyond, but I ignored it all. "Then why would you even _think_ of saying it if it wasn't true – if you didn't believe it yourself? God, why can't you just stay out of my life? I'm not some helpless little girl!" I felt the Earth trembling beneath my feet, but the disturbance was tiny – a hiccup from the silent behemoth that we all lived on. I ignored it. "I'll figure it out just like you all did when you were my age, can't you just leave me alone?"

I turned away and kept climbing. Where the heck was the end of the trail?

So we climbed, Andrew stewing in his own guilt and me slowly coming down off my enraged power trip. I calmed down, but I never thought to calm the force that I'd sent coursing through the Earth like a shockwave.

And because I didn't realize what I'd done with my rage, because I couldn't control the consequences of it – heck, because I didn't even know the scope of the powers I'd been given by the Spirits of our planet – and because I'd wanted to go for a hike with the only family member to whom I might ever tell my secret, catastrophe struck only minutes later.

We were just coming around a bend to a sheer cliff face on one side and a sharp drop of a thousand feet or more on the other when I felt it: an angry rumbling from deep within the Earth. "Andrew?" I glanced back at him, asking – hoping – that I'd imagined it.

"Yeah, I felt it too." He steadied himself with one hand on the cliff face as the rumbling got stronger, louder…_closer_.

Almost as though we'd had that same thought, we both looked straight up the cliff face just in time to see the dark cloud of rocks and stones raining down on us from above.

"Come on, Terra!" Andrew grabbed my arm and started pulling me back the way we came. "We've got to get out of here!"

"No," I easily braced myself against his strength. He had no hope of matching _my_ power. "There's no time. Stay close," I stared up at the falling wall of rubble.

"What – are you nuts?" He pulled again. "We need to get away."

I closed my eyes, "no," I said with absolute certainty as a strange warmth washed out from somewhere in my chest. "You can't outrun the Earth, Andrew." I didn't even understand the words that flowed from between my lips, but I'd spoken too quietly for my brother to even hear me. "Now," I turned my head to look up at him. "Stay close to me and we'll be safe."

I felt the energy spring to life within me as I tapped into a power older than civilization itself in a massive, unprecedented effort to save our two small lives. A burning, searing heat ignited in my hands and I opened my eyes to see that they were wrapped in a warm, golden light that radiated sheer, raw power. They'd never done _that_ before.

Raising my hands like a shield, I pushed with all my power and felt the falling rocks obey – helpless to resist my command – parting harmlessly to pass around us.

"What are you doing?" Andrew's voice was at once awe-struck and terrified – and I wasn't sure if his terror came from the avalanche or me. That fact would have disturbed me no end if I'd been any position to think about it.

As it was, however, I was a little busy.

"Can't talk," I ground out through a clenched jaw. "Working too hard…"

Hands on my shoulders turned me around to face Andrew, and it was all I could do to not lose control as I caught sight of the look on his face. He was horrified…filled with fright at the sight of me.

"Ter…what are you?"

"Does it matter?" I wrenched myself out of his grip to stare back up at the collapsing mountainside, swallowing my own horror at his words. _What am I?_ To him I was a _"what"_ now. "I'll tell you everything later, Andrew." I shook off his touch more fully and kept my hands raised, deflecting the rocks away from us with all my strength.

A few minutes later, the path ahead and behind us had been completely swept away in the flood and the rockslide was showing no sign of letting up. That would have been okay if I wasn't starting to lose my focus. I'd never tried to push myself for this long, and now I was regretting it.

"Emotions," Andrew spoke up from behind me.

"What?" What little energy I had remaining was best left concentrating on the immediate problem of the falling mountain and I was playing a dangerous game by splitting my attention like this. But something about Andrew's tone told me I needed to be a part of this conversation.

"Emotions," his voice was a little louder this time. "Your power is controlled by your emotions."

"Yeah, I know that." I flinched when a small rock made it through my defence and glanced off my shoulder. "What's your point?" That was the third stone to make it past my notice.

I couldn't see Andrew's face, but I could hear the frustration in his voice. God, he was treating me like a kid again. "Our argument earlier, Terra. I don't think you meant to, but you started this rockslide."

"What?" I felt another stone slam into my chest just as I caught sight of it and I struggled to keep my concentration. "What are you talking about?"

"You need to calm down, Terra!" His words might have been calm and reassuring, but his tone was anything but. He was panicking, and his eyes – I would never forget the fear in those eyes.

Fear of me. Fear of what I could do and Fear of what I am.

Andrew was afraid of me.

"Calm down-?" I was interrupted by yet another stone crashing into my shoulder, almost spinning me around with the force of it. "How can I calm down?" There were too many things happening at once – too many forces battling for my attention. "There's a _mountain_ falling on us!" It was all too much, so I swung my full attention back to the falling rubble around us.

"_Whoa_ – Terra!" Andrew's eyes were wide with terror, wild with a primal instinct that pulled at my head. "Calm down – you have to focus on stopping this avalanche!"

_Yeah, no kidding, Andrew._

Andrew didn't have a clue that his screaming was only making it worse. The fear in his voice was pulling at me, shaking my concentration – almost shattering it. The golden halo of energy around my hands flickered, died, reappeared, wavered…and then brightened even more than before as I refused to give in to my fatigue. I wouldn't let this rockslide kill us. I would not let Andrew die.

I would not.

But in that moment when my control had faltered, a single rock had passed through my defence. It was small, about the size of a softball. It was hard, and it slammed into Andrew's stomach, doubling him over and throwing him down off the tiny ledge that I'd managed to save from this storm.

I turned and watched him fall silently, clutching at his gut with one hand, and I watched in horror as he vanished into the masses of falling rock, obscured from my view by the hailstorm.

That's when my powers died completely and I was thrown clear of my treacherous perch, sent flying into the same storm where I'd lost Andrew.

Only…

_I_ came out alive.

**(((End Flashback)))**

* * *

Andrew should have been so lucky.

They said there had to be an angel watching over me, the doctors said it was a miracle that I came away with nothing more than a fractured collarbone, but I knew the truth and I feared they'd all find out.

Andrew didn't die because he was buried in rock, he died moments before that and was then entombed in the rubble until the rescue workers dug us out. Another rock had hit him in the head and fractured his skull just as I had caught sight of him during my own fall. He was killed instantly. I still remember seeing the rest of his fall, how there was no movement in his limp, lifeless body. He just, tumbled to the ground, flopping and spinning out of control.

I killed him.

My anger had killed him.

My childish, impulsive anger killed him.

And I have never forgiven myself.

So I ran.

The very first chance I had when no one was looking, I packed a pitifully tiny bag and ran.

Before Jump City, I'd never stayed in any place for more than a night since that day.

And I still had yet to curse again. I think the whole experience had just wiped my mouth clean.

There was nothing left to say.

"That's quite a past you've got, Terra."

I'm pulled back to my present situation by Raven's calm, clear voice and I find myself already staring into her peaceful violet eyes. It hadn't been five seconds since I realized she was there and already I felt as though the world made sense again. I felt calm, relaxed…_at peace_.

She must have come in and caught me unawares, consumed in the thoughts and memories my previous guest had invoked with his forked tongue.

Speaking of…

_Raven…_

"I'm sorry," she interrupted, taking a slow step back, "I didn't mean to see your memory – I just…came in at a bad time. You were broadcasting pretty clearly."

I paused. _No, it's all right. After what I've done, you have every right to get a glimpse into my past._

"No I don't," Raven's eyes narrowed and she seemed tense. "It wasn't your fault."

_No?_ I was defiant to the end – typical of me, wasn't it? _Why not? It wasn't his fault, or the mountain's fault, so who else's would it have been?_

Raven turned away, "is a toddler at fault if she trips and falls on someone else?"

Oh good, she's speaking in riddles. _I wasn't a child, Raven._

"Yes, you were. And as far as your powers were concerned," her voice was low, even, confident. "You might as well have been an infant." She looked at the circles of light beneath our feet. "There was nothing you could have done to prevent what happened, Terra – you have to realize that. You may be the one who caused your brothers death, but just as you pointed out before that there was nothing we could have done to stop you from joining Slade, you have to accept that there was nothing you could have done. Any other younger sister would have lashed out like you did – the only difference is what happens when _you_ lash out. Running away from your responsibility is what has brought you to where you are now."

_What are you saying?_

She didn't seem to have heard me. "Jump City was the first place you actually got close to anyone since Andrew died, wasn't it?"

_Yeah_, I sobered, remembering the small group of friends I'd gathered around me here before it all went to the Abyss. _Yeah, it was._

"So," Raven glanced around at the darkness around us. "Let's just say something finally caught up to you in your time here – call it Justice, or Fate or whatever you want, but you've finally been forced to stop running and face all the consequences your choices have brought upon you." She waved a hand at the stone form in which I had found myself imprisoned for these past months. "They say solitude is the best place to find yourself, so tell me Terra – who are you?" She asked me _who_ I was, that's what I liked about Raven…I had always been a person to her, never an object in need of disposal. She saw me as a person – good, bad, whatever… "Are you the tough, scared girl you were when we first met you, or the ruthless, bitter monster you became under Slade's guidance?"

I didn't answer for a very long time.

Raven must have taken my silence to mean something it didn't' because she sighed and turned away, fading from my sight as she withdrew from this world.

"I'll let you think about that for as long as you need," Raven's disembodied voice drifted in through my stone ears. "But I think it's time we chopped off another chunk of that Neural Interface – wouldn't you agree?"

She started moving around without waiting for my reply. We both knew what it would have been anyways. I heard her set her candles and incense alight in a circle around me before she settled down to meditate in front of me. "Well, here we go, Terra. I think I'll be able to cut a little more off Slade's little gizmo now that I know what to look for…" She trailed off and I heard her take a few slow, deep breaths, calming and centering herself.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

You know, it probably should have surprised me, the thoughts that were running through my head with Raven's mantra drifting in from outside, but it really didn't. It should have come as a surprise how quickly my own thoughts fell in sync with hers…

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

Nope, not an ounce of surprise in my head.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

_Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…_

* * *

She was right.

Either Raven had been practising or grown more into her own powers, or maybe familiarity did help with what she was doing because by the time she was finished, my entire left leg was free and feeding me glorious sensation. I could feel the coolness of my cave, the occasional breeze of an air current, and even a thin stream of icy water running down the outside of my leg and curling around the front to trickle down my heel. It tickled against my bare skin, and it would probably become so beyond irritating if it continued for more than a day, but for now I took a great amount of pleasure from simply being able to feel more than the hard, cold ground beneath my feet.

Of course, the surgery was just as painful the second go around as it had been the first time – perhaps even more so. Maybe it was because at least a part of my body had been free this time, allowing the phantom pain to manifest in a more physical way. If that was the case, I was both anticipating and dreading the remaining sessions I'd have to endure under Raven's carefully wielded knife. It was likely to grow ever more painful each time, but it would eventually be finished. Someday.

I guess I could grunt and bear it.

And my friend didn't need to know how much agony she was causing me because it wasn't something she could prevent and it would serve no purpose to have this riding on her conscience. I was simply reliving the last moments I'd lived as flesh and bone and if they had been pleasant, I'm sure I would feel little pain while Raven worked to sever Slade's insidious, invasive hardware from my body. As things happened, however, my last moments had been nothing short of a personal Judgement Day. The Titans had more than thrashed me despite whatever I'd told my mentor to the contrary. It had been all I could do to get from the city down to where Slade and I had made our hideout. No home for the blonde, super-powered runaway. I'd vomited at least half-a-dozen times along the way; a combination of my bruised and complaining intestines and abdominal muscles, and my horror and sheer awe of Raven's incredible, insurmountable power.

And then I'd gotten into a fight with my master.

Could I do anything right?

"Terra?"

The quiet, uncharacteristically warm voice pulled me away from my dark thoughts and I realized that Raven had appeared in my prison once again. She'd shed her cloak just like she had after our first session, only this time she wasn't panting like she'd just sprinted a marathon. Had it really been that long since she'd stopped cutting this time? Where was she finding the time to stay with me this long? Wasn't she one of those big, busy, world-saving Teen Titans?

"Terra."

Oh right, she was still waiting for me to answer. _Yeah Raven, I'm here._

It was then I noticed the large white book in her hands. _What's that?_ And how did she manage to bring it with her in the first place?

Raven didn't' reply, choosing instead to open her tome and flip through a few pages before turning it back to face me. "Terra, meet Malchior."

A pair of angry, red-glowing eyes met mine from a page that was torn across the bottom half of the book. They were huge, considering the page itself was only about eight or ten inches across, and they were narrowed and slanted sharply inward. This was definitely not a dragon of the happy breed.

"Oh, joyous day," came the hissing voice from the thick book. "You've brought me here to meet another one of your sad, pathetic little friends." The eyes narrowed even further, "So – you're Terra. Raven won't stop talking about you back home."

_Really?_ I noticed the slightest darkening of colour in Raven's pale cheeks, but decided against inquiring about it. _You keep him around?_

Raven shrugged carelessly, "I already tried burning him," she replied flippantly, "It didn't work."

"Unfortunately," the book grumbled.

_What?_ If I thought I was confused before, boy was I lost now. _First off, why would you burn him?_

"I can't let just anyone find a talking book, can I?" Raven glared at the volume in her hands. "Who knows what he might have gotten into when I wasn't in the room?"

"Oh please," the crimson eyes shook spasmodically with laughter. "The only thing at risk is your wardrobe; I've never seen so many blue cloaks before. It was enough to make me physically ill – if I still had the stomach with which to do so."

Okay, this conversation had rapidly tumbled downhill.

"And don't get me started on her underwear drawer."

"That's enough from you," Raven interjected quickly. "I keep him around because he's older than me and he _does_ have a lot more experience with magic than I do."

"Oh, yes…" I didn't realize it was possible but those eyes narrowed even more, almost to bare slits, and the book itself looked like it was shaking with barely-restrained rage. "We're like girlfriends. I tell her all about my hopes and dreams and how I would torture her if I could for putting me back in this book."

"Quiet," Raven commanded darkly, "You had your freedom."

"Yes – for a glorious five minutes. I was trapped in these pages for millennia!"

Raven smiled, "Then you shouldn't have wasted your freedom fighting me – you should have run while you had the chance because those minutes are the last you'll have in a very long time."

"Have it your way then." Malchior's eyes turned back to face me, "But, God! You can't imagine how dreadfully painful it is to hear so much about someone I couldn't possibly care less for." The eyes rolled around the page exasperatedly. "But let's hear a little about yourself, Precious. Are you as heavy as you look?"

_Excuse me?_

"What?" Raven had a scandalized look, her eyes wide with horror at what her book had just said.

"I would wager you are in which case I'd suggest a diet." Those blazing eyes were laughing now. "It might help to soften your complexion a little and make you look a little less…stone-faced."

With an angry growl, Raven slammed the book shut and then threw it spine-first into the ground with all her might.

"Ow!"

The book was silent for a few long moments after that before it opened itself and flipped back to the half-torn page. "Raven," the eyes blazed like fire as they stared straight at Raven, but the dragon's voice was quiet, thoughtful – as though he was simply trying to dissect Raven or understand her. "Don't you think you're overreacting just a bit? It was just a joke."

"Not another word Malchior," Raven's tone was dangerous and – miraculously – aimed at someone other than me. "You're leaving." She clenched one hand into a fist and the book was instantly enveloped in inky blackness, sinking into the ground and vanishing from my world. "I'm sorry, Terra." She stared at the floor glumly, "I shouldn't have brought him here."

_It's all right,_ I assured her, _it was kind of funny._

"Really?" Raven stared at me. "You've got a strange sense of humour, Terra." I saw the slightest hint of a smile on her face. "Slade really did make a mess of your head, didn't he?"

I started laughing at her playful jab, but immediately remembered what my old master had said earlier. _He was here!_

Raven snapped out of her thoughts, startled by my silent outburst, "Um…what?"

_Slade,_ I repeated; _he was here._

Raven's eyes widened, "What – are you sure?"

I thought again about what I'd heard before I took a stroll through my memory graveyard. _Well, I didn't see anything so I can't be completely sure. But it sure sounded like him and it was the same footsteps. He said the same creepy things that Slade always did._

"What did he say?" Raven's eyes narrowed back to her _thoughtful-scowl_, which was somehow different from her normal _indifferent-scowl_.

_He said no one would ever accept me, whether I got free of this stone or not because of what I did to Andrew. He said he's been watching you try to free me and that it was a shame you wouldn't get to finish. _I paused as a horrific thought darted through my head. _I think he's planning to kill you or set up all the Titans together somehow._

Raven straightened up, surprised, "Kill?" She seemed to think about it for a while and I had to admit, it did seem a little strange. Slade was a lot of things, but outright murder didn't seem to be his style. It lacked the finesse and style that my Master was so fond of. "What did he say – _exactly_?"

I tried to remember. _He said your time was coming soon._

I saw the colour drain from Raven's face, what little colour there was, and she stared at me intently, her eyes narrowed almost to slits in that way that had always scared me…before. "Are you _absolutely _sure? Were those his exact words?"

I would have pulled away from Raven if I could; she was really scaring me with the intensity of her stare. _Yeah,_ I thought instead, _I think so._ I found myself at a loss when I finally interpreted the look on the empath's face, the very slightest tremor sweeping periodically through her body. She was scared – no she was terrified…_ What's got you so scared, Raven?_

Raven stared at me with wide violet eyes, "I'm," she faltered for a moment, "I'm afraid of…" she turned her eyes down to stare at the ground beneath our feet, "…of me."

_Afraid of you?_ That wasn't something I had been expecting at all. _What is that supposed to mean? Why are you scared of you?_

Raven turned away, refusing to look at me. "It's not something you could understand."

Well, didn't that just feel like a kick and a half to my stomach? But instead of rising up and matching her word for word, I somehow managed to keep my cool. _Maybe not_, I agreed, _but I can't help you if you bury your problems that deep_.

Her head snapped over to look at me. "Help? What makes you think you can help me?"

Ouch. My cheek actually stung from that remark. Okay Raven, you're two for two now – do you really want to try for three? _It's not a matter of what I can and can't do, Raven_. I felt that old aggression come alive inside me, clawing for the surface. I could feel that the old Terra – the old me that was so familiar – wanted so badly to come out and play. No, that wasn't right. _I_ was the old Terra, and I had regained everything I had lost when I chose to run away from home and become the Terra that the Titans knew so well. She was the proud, shameless, confident girl that I had to become in order to survive out here in the world on my own. The old me survived, protected by the tough armour I'd made for myself, but I had become so accustomed to the impenetrable second skin that I had forgotten how to take it off and be just…me.

So I'd missed the best chance I'd ever had to turn my life around and stop the mess I helped make from ever happening at all. When I had met the Titans, I could have prevented everything but I was so caught up in hiding and protecting myself…

But this time I knew better. This time when Raven pushed like that and the Runaway Terra – the _Survivor _Terra – wanted to come out and fight back, I knew not to give an inch.

_It's about what I want to do, and I want to help you, but you have to let me._ I'd had just about enough of this lone-wolf Raven as I could stand. _Friendship goes both ways, Raven. I've proven that I'm yours, but have you done the same?_

That question did it. Raven froze, her eyes wide as though she'd been caught red-handed with her hand around an innocent bystander's throat. "I – I'm sorry…you're right, Terra." She took a deep breath before speaking again, "It's just…when I was born…there was a prophecy. It's one of those end-of-the-world kind of things and I've been trying all my life to stop it from coming to pass. And after all the good I've done, I think I've failed…" Raven paused, turning her face away as her voice instantly reverted to something almost monotone. "It's really not something I like talking about."

_Why not_, I thought;_ what's so bad about wanting to do good?_

"Because I-," Raven took a steadying, determined lungful of air. It was strange that she'd need it in this place. "Because I'm the one that causes the prophecy to come true and unleash the apocalypse."

_What do you mean?_ This didn't make anymore sense than Raven being afraid of herself. _Can't you just, you know, not do what you're supposed to do?_

"I really wish that it could be that simple," Raven looked down at the ground, thinking silently for a moment before sitting down on the ground in her bright halo of light. "But it's not; I have no choice."

_You know, Beast boy said something about that the last time we were fighting. He said that I always had a choice on what to do with my life, that it was my choice to betray you all and to join Slade. How can it be different with you?_

Raven sighed. "Because it isn't something I do that brings him here – it's just what I am." Her hand came up to rub gently at the violet gem in the centre of her forehead. "I have trained and meditated all my life to prepare for that day so I could try to stop it or fight him when he gets here, but in the end…all I have to do is wake up and live through that day and he will come into this world." She must have somehow been able to sense my confusion because she shook her head lightly. "I'm not making any sense am I?" A thin, almost humourless smile creased her lips and she pointed up at the diadem on her forehead. "_I'm_ the gateway through which he comes to this world. Someday, someday soon, my body will transform into a portal and allow him to cross over." She turned her eyes down to stare into her lap. "The prophecy doesn't mention anything about me after that…"

_Who is he?_ This guy sounded pretty bad and I suddenly felt a little less eager to be freed from my stone cage. I mean hey, maybe I'd be safe here, right?

"His name is Trigon," she replied quietly, "And he's my father."

A long moment passed in deafening silence before a single thought passed through my head.

_Huh_.

_You know, I think I should have been surprised, but I really wasn't_. I even tried to be surprised; I really did. Nothing. _So, your father, huh? That really sucks._

"To put it mildly," raven agreed calmly, her _thoughtful-scowl_ firmly back in place.

_Why are you so calm about this? _It was amazing, incredible really. Raven was talking about the end of the world like she was telling me there were clouds in the sky. _I mean, why aren't you just scared out of your mind?_

She sighed wearily and finally smiled more freely even though I could still see some darkness lingering at the edges of her eyes. "Terra, I have known this day was coming since I was old enough to know…_anything_. I've had some time for the idea to sink in." Her shoulders slumped a little, "and plenty of time to realize that I can't stop it. Not when he's so much more powerful than me."

There was nothing I could say to that so I settled for satisfying my curiosity on a different subject. _How long have you been here with me?_

If she was disappointed with the subject change, the half-demon never showed it. "I've been down here with you for a little over five hours probably; I don't really have a watch with me here." She gestured down at herself, sitting cross-legged in a spotlight surrounded by the darkness that enshrouded us both.

_Shouldn't the others be looking for you about now?_

Raven suddenly found her knees to be much more fascinating to look at than they had any right to be. "No, they won't be looking for me." She brushed her hair behind her ear with one hand. "I told them I was taking the weekend to meditate alone at a place I know up in the woods outside the city." She tried to leave it at that.

Of course, Mom had always said I was too curious for my own good.

_The weekend? So, you're just on your way out of the city?_

Raven shook her head, "They don't know where my retreat is and I pulled the tracker out of my communicator so they don't know I'm down here with you." She smiled thinly, "so now we've got the time to get to know each other the way we should have done a long time ago. I'll need to rest for a while before working on your other leg, but we can talk for an hour or two if you want to." She scooted a little closer, reaching out to rest her hand on the barrier between us. "So, what do you say – are you up for it?"

No way.

A weekend. A whole weekend. Raven, icy-cold, indifferent Raven had set aside a whole weekend for me. Why? Did she really value me that much as a friend? I couldn't believe it at all. But a whole weekend…

It was almost impossible to believe.

But before I accepted Raven's plan, I remembered something she had said.

Trigon was coming.

He was coming soon, and if Raven couldn't beat him, what chance did I have?

Maybe it would be a good idea for me to hold off on restoring myself to my body. Maybe staying stone would save me from this big bad guy's assault on our world. I mean, why bother with a dead statue if there's millions of free, talking, laughing, and smiling people all around the world for him to play with? Trigon wouldn't harm me. Besides, what good could I do if I was freed only to be imprisoned or enslaved once again by this demon of destruction? Yes, I would be safe if I stayed.

But what about Raven?

I felt a jolt of something strange pass through my mind. Maybe it was fear, but for once it wasn't for me. I was worried for _Raven_.

None of the others knew.

That much was obvious. Not Robin, not Beast boy, Cyborg, or Starfire; none of them knew the full truth about their friend's dark nature. Heck, the only reason _I_ knew was because I'd pushed at Raven until she broke down and told me. The other Titans would never do that – she had them all scared of her on some level or another. I was pretty sure I knew what Raven would do when she left for home. She would lock herself up; bury her emotions deep under that glacial, unfeeling façade of hers. Then no one would know, no one would ask, and Raven would simply suffer her burden alone. It was her standard MO and I felt that I was the only one who could help her through this, the only one she trusted to help her _at all_.

It's a crazy world, huh?

And I wasn't about to let some faceless name scare me away from her. If she was seeking me out for friendship, then I would give her the same. If She was willing to forgive me for all my failings, how could I do any differently?

_Yeah,_ I finally replied, _I'm up for it._

I'd face this uncertain future with her. I would be free of this damnable stone prison of mine, and I would help her search for a way to stop this prophecy from coming true or to take out this…Trigon if we couldn't keep him out.

I'd come a long way from that tough, scared little girl, hadn't I?

* * *

By the time Raven left me that Monday, I had no secrets left. I'd told her everything about my life, my dreams, my mistakes… I'd even told her my plans once I was free, how I'd do everything in my power to help her stop her father. Her only reply was a weary smile as she was fading slowly from the world we'd shared for two straight days.

She packed up her things in silence, just like the last time and I expected her to walk away just as silently without another word passed between us; we'd already said our goodbyes.

So I was shocked to say the least when I felt two arms wrap around my stone-cold form – one over my shoulder and the other under my arm. I could feel the light press of Raven's body against mine, the brush of her cloak against my shins, and the whisper of her breath on my shoulder.

"Goodbye Terra," she murmured into my ear, "I'll be back soon."

And then, with a swish of her cloak against my knees, she was gone.

Oh, didn't I mention it?

The only part of the Interface left was my head.

* * *

A/N: Hope I didn't keep y'all waiting too long. Please, tell me how you feel about the story so far?


	6. Consumed

**Title: **Stone Cold Body, Warm Heart – Consumed

**Rating:** I'd say PG-15.

**Spoilers:** Episode "The End".

**Disclaimer:** All credit and ownership of Teen Titans the animated series belongs to Warner Brothers.

* * *

**CHAPTER 6**

"_Happy Birthday, Raven."_

Something was wrong.

"_The Gem was born of Evil's fire…"_

I couldn't suppress the shudder that swept through me deep in the darkness, still confined her in my spot of light.

"_The Gem shall be His portal…"_

Oh, maybe I should explain a little.

See, it's been a while since Raven spent that weekend with me. She'd worked on and off the whole time, spending time talking to me during the off hours. She sometimes stayed out in her world to talk to me, giving me very little means to reply. Most of the time, however, she found strength enough to cross over and have a real conversation with me instead of resting out there and essentially talking to herself. It still astounded me that she would even consider spending an entire weekend with me. That was so many hours devoted completely to helping me – Terra, defeated and hated foe of the Teen Titans. I was supposed to stay locked in my prison to rot until the end of all existence.

That Raven of all people would spend so long in my company was a thing I would treasure like the most precious of stones.

It had been painful – so incredibly painful – and Raven had finally caught on to the fact that this psychic…surgery was really hurting me. By that time enough of my body had been free of my Master's Neural Interface so that not only did I experience once again the excruciating pain and humiliation of my last battles, but I could also feel every piece and thread of the Neural Interface as it was torn from my body. It was like feeling the very blood rushing through my veins, cell by tiny cell – only more sharply painful. It felt like having thousands of tiny little razor blades spinning through my body and tearing my bloodstream to shreds or maybe like my veins were instead flowing with boiling acid, simultaneously killing me and giving me life. It felt like my stomach and my heart had ganged up to kill me.

I'm not sure exactly how Raven found out; I had never intended to tell her. Maybe she had finally heard my mind's agonized cries or it had just somehow clicked in her own head that what she was doing was nothing less than surgery without anaesthetic. The first thing Raven had said to me after that operation had been a short, sincere apology and a fervent wish that she could make this whole ordeal less painful. I was touched by her concern – I really was – but I told her not to worry about it. There was nothing she could do to ease the pain, and I was still convinced that this was my penance for choosing the path that I had.

So, she'd gotten on with her surgery, leaving me with nothing but my thoughts and my everlasting kingdom of agony. And when the Titan had left me at last at the end of that weekend, all that had been left of Slade's disgusting technology had been whatever parts were still in my head.

Still trapped in this otherworld, I wrapped my arms around myself and just sat down in the middle of my bright pool of shimmering light. This was something I'd discovered not too long after Raven had left me – the ability to move around in this otherworld. I think it had something to do with such a large portion of my body being free of the Neural Interface. Or maybe it was a by-product of my own mind's subconscious realization that I would soon be free. _Yeah_…this wasn't my area of expertise, but I was thrilled to be able to move again, even if I couldn't really go anywhere.

My wide halo of light refused to follow me when I moved, and the wall that had always separated me from my friend whenever she visited was no longer there. I'd ventured bravely out into the vast darkness only once, and my courage had evaporated as soon as I'd stepped out from within my lowing circle of safety. Since then I hadn't set a single foot outside my white light. It was embarrassing how much fear had taken hold of my heart as soon as my light had abandoned me. How had I fallen so far?

"_Let me put your mind at ease…"_

Which brings me to now, I guess.

"_It's called the Mark of Scath, and it's about to become very popular."_

I'm pretty sure it's been a very long time since Raven visited and I've only now been able to figure out why.

I've been hearing…voices.

The voices have been coming out of the darkness like distant whispers, neither coming from my world or the physical plane that surrounded my stone-locked body. They weren't coming from outside in my cavern – my throne room as it were, and they weren't coming from inside, hovering just outside the boundaries of my illuminated space in _this_ world. And neither were they coming from the writhing, twisting storm of my own mind…but as whispers only barely heard. The voices came as if from a great distance, and I could only hear them in bits and pieces. I wasn't even quite sure of what they were saying – what I was hearing – and each phrase had filled me with an inexplicable, ominous, and gut-churning dread.

"_I am dying…" _

Okay, except maybe that one.

This voice was quiet – a whisper of a whisper – and it spoke to my heart, filling me with all the emotions I had discarded when I took up my master's horrible cause. This voice called to me – it pulled at me with patient and gentle insistence. It was a voice I hadn't heard since I fled from my home after Andrew's death.

"_Terra…"_

It...

"_Terra, help me…" _

It almost sounded like…

"_What you have concealed you shall become!"_

Oh God!

And then came the pain.

I felt fire tear through me at the sudden assault on my body that began from that other voice – the one that was constantly filled with hate and arrogance, scheming and sedition. What fresh torment was this? What new curse had my crimes brought on my soul now? I felt a cold, icy darkness grip my heart with hooked and piercing talons. Even as I curled like a scorched leaf – huddling into a ball in the centre of my tiny, weakening spot of light – I was cold inside…so very cold. Where was my warmth – the fire of my heart? Where had it fled to under this unbearable immolation of my senses?

"_The Gem was born of Evil's fire…"_

I cried out in pain as those words sent a fresh lance of agony to pierce through the veil of my mind, shredding it terribly. I felt my blood boiling in my veins, smelled the ash and fire in the very air…

"_The Gem shall be His Portal…"_

My head felt pressed in a vise, breaking under the pressure.

"_He comes to Claim…"_

A vision overcame my senses, overriding everything I was feeling – everything that I _was_ – for a few brief, blessed moments. Terra was nothing - a memory. A phantom of a memory. As fire tore my mind away, burning without consuming, I felt myself rising up, pulled by some force beyond my ability to reason, drawn up by hands wrapped around my own. As the pain grew ever worse outside, I felt power fill my body, bringing with it even more agony; as though the searing, ravenous flame that now surrounded me had fed on what energy I had and – finding more – now sank its claws into my flesh once again.

But amidst all the pain…

"_Terra…"_

That voice, that pleading, soothing voice...

"_Terra…help me…"_

I felt a tremendous burst of _power_ like nothing I had ever known. The gift I had been given as a child was nothing, a mere pinprick of what I now felt. The ability to raise boulders from the Earth? That was nothing!

"_Terra…"_

I could level whole mountain ranges, erase an entire city from existence with but a wave of my hand, consume half the globe in fire with a single burst of light. And yet I was still consumed in the pain of all pain. Even as the power to engulf whole continents with the Ocean's vast fury filled my body, I was powerless against this soul-crushing, all-penetrating spear of never-ending fire. It was then the realization finally dawned on me.

Terra was gone… She had been drawn home.

I was One with the Earth now, like mother and daughter reunited.

"_He comes to Sire…"_

And I was dying.

"_The End of all things Mortal."_

A Nova exploded into being within my chest – one moment nothing and the next an expanding ball of all-consuming fire – as I felt a malevolent presence fill my mind. I recoiled from the Power, but it pursued me ever more quickly, seeking me out and hunting me down – running me into the ground as I lost the energy to continue my retreat. It took hold of my heart with cold, sharp fingers of pure terror and my blood turned to poison and ashes in my veins. Its grip on my soul tightened with every second as it drew nearer, the source following after those piercing claws of darkness and despair.

The force that had taken hold of me was nothing short of pure, insatiable Evil, ten times worse than Slade – a _thousand_ times beyond what my Master could even fathom in his small, tiny, arrogant, and self-consumed mind. It gripped me in its hand, engulfing me and piercing me with a lance forged from the flames of the purest agony.

And as I writhed from the undiluted, unending agony of it all, as my world became nothing but an eternal cycle of consuming fire and soul-wrenching darkness, as I shared in my Mother's pain – I heard one last cry before darkness claimed me and my heart turned to stone within my chest.

"_**The Earth is MINE!"**_

* * *

A/N: So, here we are – just a really short chapter for now. I hope you liked it…well, liked the chapter itself if not the content in it. I'll be back sometime to add some more to this story, but in the meantime, tell me what you think?

Fun Fact: Did you know Word 2003 doesn't accept the word "vise" as a word? It's a word, I swear it!


	7. Home and Back Again

**Title: **Stone Cold Body, Warm Heart – Home and Back Again

**Rating:** I'd say PG-15.

**Spoilers:** Spoilers for "The End" – yes, most definitely Spoilers

**Disclaimer:** All credit and ownership of Teen Titans the animated series belongs to Warner Brothers.

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**CHAPTER 7**

"Terra?"

The first thing I was aware of was how terribly cold it was around me. My eyes were closed and yet I knew it would look far warmer than it felt. Where was I – trapped in a glacier?

Then I felt something on my cheek, like the brush of a butterfly's wings – so light and brief that the instant it was gone, I couldn't be sure that I had even felt it at all. But I wished it was real; that touch had been so warm, such a relief from the piercing cold that surrounded me. I shivered suddenly from the incredible temperature of the world around me.

"Oh, you're ice-cold – here…"

Something was thrown around my shoulders, enveloping me in comforting warmth and filling my senses with the smells of a place long gone from my memory. I stopped shivering almost immediately as soothing warmth surrounded me like sunshine and a feeling of security and safety suffused my body all the way to my core.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and found myself face-to-face with a pair of eyes as blue as the sky and just as open and clear. They were set in a face as smooth as polished marble and framed by flowing hair as golden-bright as the purest wheat field at harvest. I could feel the warmth radiating from those azure eyes like a tangible thing, like a hug from a mother. I was seated stiffly on the edge of a soft bed and a cloak as green as corn husks and evergreen needles had been thrown around my shoulders, providing me with a refuge from the bitter cold of this sparse, barren room.

"Terra," the woman smiled comfortingly, but sadly. "Welcome home."

And then a pair of arms was wrapped around me as gently as dew on a flower, but as strong as oak limbs. I felt her breath on my air like a spring breeze across a grassy field, and the deep drumbeat of her heart pumping in time with my own.

I don't think I had ever before felt so sharply that I belonged anywhere than when my Earth-mother held me so completely and lovingly in her arms.

"Mom?" I felt tears prick at the corners of my eyes and I blinked them away stubbornly. Big girls don't cry. "I'm sorry…"

The woman drew back, smiling gently. "I am not your mother, child, but I have given you a tremendous power – perhaps too much, yes?"

An image half-forgotten flashed before my eyes as I took in the Earth…spirit's warm smile. I remembered an old, old photo of my parents from before I was born. My Dad had died not long after I came into the world, but I knew what he looked like from those pictures I'd seen around the house and in the attic – mostly the attic. And I also remember hearing from my Mom and from Andrew that she had been married before. My brother was actually the result of Mom's first marriage. After my Dad died, she remarried her ex and they became the only parents I knew.

But _my_ Dad…

The pictures I had seen of him and Mom. She had never looked happier. Never in my life had Mom ever looked more happy to be alive than when my Dad had been by her side…not with my Step-dad, not with Andrew, certainly never with me. I never saw a wider smile or a brighter sparkle in her eyes than when that tall, blond- haired man was with her, sharing in her life.

Andrew had told me stories about his Step-dad – my Dad. They had been married six years before I was born, and my brother always said my birth had changed Mom so much.

The Earth Spirit – my other parent – nodded as though she had heard my thoughts and memories. "I have lived for eons, Terra – but I have never met someone like your mother. Melanie was – is…" A wistful smile played at the edges of her lips. "She is life. Never before in all my wanderings across every part of my World have I ever seen a creature so beautiful or passionate about living." Earth's smile grew fonder as she remembered the past. "I would have given anything in my power to make her laugh or smile." She moved slowly to sit on the bed beside me, her movements as smooth and fluid as ocean waves. "Creating a flesh and blood child with her was one of the most painful things I have ever had to do." Her smile faded into a sorrowful frown. "But I knew it was what she wanted – even if she never told me."

Pushing aside my confusion over this newly-revealed side of my family, I quickly caught up with the conversation. "Why was it painful?"

Earth sighed quietly, "I knew your birth would mean my departure from that world." She shook her head slowly. "I could not make a child simply on a whim. If I gave your mother this gift, I would no longer have the power to remain with her, and as much as I loved her…" She shook her head again. "But it was worth it just to see the joy on her face when she held you for the first time."

I was stunned by this revelation. I had always known I had a connection to the Earth, but I'd never thought it was anything more than spiritual. But to find out that it was very literal? That was beyond my understanding. It never occurred to me to doubt the Spirit's proclamation, but still…How was this even possible?

"Do you even have to ask, child?" An amused grin was spread across the…woman's face. "I am the Earth; do you really think I could be limited by something as simple as gender?" She laughed softly at the perpetual look of confusion on my face. "But, if you insist on calling me that, I suppose it wouldn't hurt anything."

I said nothing in reply. I was still trying to wrap my head around this new knowledge. My Mom was human and my dad was…the Earth? I suppose it explained where my powers had come from, if nothing else. But the Earth wasn't really a person at all – I was swift enough to capture that little tidbit – so did that mean -?

"Am I…" I hesitated, struck mute briefly by my thoughts and suspicions, "Am I dead?"

Earth smiled gently and pulled back a little while leaving her cloak wrapped around my warming body. "You are…and you're not." At the increasing look of bewilderment on my face, she explained calmly and patiently. "Your body has no heartbeat…so you are not alive, but your heart hasn't pumped once for all these past months you've been imprisoned and yet you've still found ways to talk to your friend and to fight your way back through your…condition."

"Okay, I get it." I pulled the precious, warmth-giving garment more tightly around my shoulders. "I'm in between. Can I get back?"

For the first time, doubt entered the Earth's expression, darkening her face with stormy shadows. "I don't know." She sighed, "There may be a way." She held up her left hand and I noticed abruptly that she was wearing a shackle around that wrist. "But…I am stripped of my power." There was no chain attached to the dark bracelet – only a fiery, burning _**S**_inscribed on the surface of the wide, black metal. "Trigon has come, and I can do nothing…" there was frustration in her voice, and it was thick with anger, but it was weak and tired – as though it had burned itself out.

So that was it then. I closed my eyes against the sudden sting of tears. _I'd never even got to say goodbye to her…_

A few minutes passed in silence before I spoke up again. "Did Mom know…about you?" I glanced over at the much taller, older woman. She looked so much like me, only older – more…weathered and experienced.

The Spirit sighed wearily. "What could I have told her? That out of all the countless men, women, and beasts I have seen, I fell in love with her? That a Planet actually fell in Love with a mortal?" A sad, sorrowful smile ghosted across her lips. "I think it would have been easier to believe if I had told her I'd fallen head-over-heels with a single cell in her body."

I felt a tiny smirk twitch my lips. "Yeah, I guess that would be kind of hard to take in." I looked down at the manacle around the Earth's wrist. "So then she doesn't know about me, either."

If it were at all possible, my…parent's expression grew even more downcast – even more sorrowful. "It pains me so much that you ran away from her after Andrew's death." She smiled gently at me, _pleadingly_. "If you do escape this darkness Terra, if you manage to somehow return to your world – promise me you will talk to your mother again."

I froze in my thoughts, knowing exactly what she was asking of me. "But…I'll have to tell her…" of course I'd have to tell her; how could I expect to turn up after five years as if nothing happened – without a single word of explanation? "I'll have to tell her why her son is dead…why my brother is…" I trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

Earth's smile remained, and it seemed to comfort me immeasurably. "Then tell her," she offered simply. At the terrified whimper that escaped me and my widening eyes, she wasted no time gathering me up into her arms. "Oh no, Terra…no more of this," she pleaded to me. "Blaming yourself is wrong. It was not your fault he died…it was not your fault that you lost control." The words were whispered in a voice that had the power to shatter the Heavens, but that voice was instead at this moment peaceful and soothing in my ear. "Melanie is your Mother, Terra…she may get angry when you tell her," her voice sounded incredibly sad at the mention of that. "She may lash out at you, but she loves you…she has always loved you, Terra, even after you ran away from home."

"But," I couldn't help the trembling in my shoulders as the memories of my screwed-up life caused tears to silently trail down my cheeks. "I killed him," I choked out, looking away from the…woman before me, "how could she not hate me? I killed her son-."

Long, slender fingers gently turned me back to stare into her eyes, the brightest blue eyes that I had ever seen, entrancing me with her loving, compassionate gaze. "And _you_ are her daughter," she declared firmly, "You must trust that she will still love you no matter what she says or does." A bittersweet smile touched the Earth's features. "It's a parent's curse and blessing to always love our children." Her eyes brightened slightly, "and you couldn't help it that you lost control; you had only just learned of your Power." She smirked a little at me. "I tried to teach you as well as I could, but you can't force lessons in patience or self-control – especially not when it is your own child."

I laughed sadly at the pure truth in her words as I pulled away a little from her reassuring embrace. "I know that," I wiped at my eyes and scooted away from her as I sat on the bed beside her. "But I've learned from my mistakes," I whispered my words – ashamed of how incredibly many mistakes I'd had to learn from. "I know now what I didn't know then." I stood up and moved over to kneel before the Earth. "I'm ready now," I breathed, never before feeling so strongly the…_rightness_ of what I was doing than in this moment right here in this place. "I'm ready to learn from you." I bowed my head almost to the floor, too ashamed to meet the eternally patient eyes of my mentor…my _Goddess_. Every mistake, every disastrous decision played before my mind's eye like a horrible biographic slideshow. How could I have ever thought that I knew anything about the world?

Squeezing my eyes shut, I felt my last, pleading words slip so easily from between my lips. "Teach me…_please_."

I'd learned my lesson all to well this time. How could I have done otherwise? The lessons in humility that had landed me in this situation should never have been necessary, but it was needed in the end to drive the point home to the stubborn, head-strong, small-town little girl that I had been. Yes, I was powerful, but I was dangerous too – to myself and to the world. And…

And I was young.

I was so young, but desperate to prove otherwise. Whenever my abilities or decisions had come into question, people had always told me I was young, small, and ignorant. And they had been right…

I felt those fingers on my face again, gently forcing me to look up into the Earth's face and meet her gaze with my own shamed, tear-sodden eyes. I felt the warmth of her touch like the sun on a blanket of sand, "Oh Terra," her voice was as soothing and light as the mist kissing the surface of a pool of water. Her eyes were peaceful and calm as she took in my distressed expression. The compassionate smile that crossed her face was like the sweetest breath of fresh air I had ever drawn. "You have already learned so much more than I could have hoped for." She smiled at me as if I'd actually ever done something right in my life. "It has taken you longer than I intended, but _you_ learned it all." She crouched down with me on the floor and enfolded me in her arms, gripping me in an embrace as secure as the foundations of a mountain, whispering her next words directly into my ear:

"I am so proud of you, Terra. Don't ever forget that."

An unbearable weight was lifted from my shoulders, like those simple words had been enough to absolve me of the massive burden I had carried for the past years of my catastrophic life – ever since my stubbornness and anger had taken Andrew from the world. I breathed peacefully – tranquil and clean for the first time in a very long while.

But before I could say or think anything else, a quiet sound reached my ear.

"_It's the end of the world. Did you expect it to be easy?"_

They were whispers – faint and distant – like the voices I'd heard just before Trigon came…just before I was thrown from there to…_here_.

"_I don't expect you to win."_

They were coming from beyond the door to the room the Earth and I were sharing – this glorified…prison cell.

"_I don't even expect you to live."_

Slowly, drawn to the dark, brooding voice of my old master – my tormentor -, I stepped toward the closed door and reached for the handle. My dazed, foggy mind registered the fact the way was blocked and my hand dropped back to hang by my side. Still slow to realize what was going on, I stared at the barrier with narrowed eyes and felt my left palm resting gently on the rough wood surface of the door.

"_I'll bring her back. I promise."_

A warm, slender-fingered hand covered my own, drawing me out of my intense trance. "Do you hear that, Terra?" Earth's brilliant blue eyes glittered like sapphires in her suddenly kindled excitement. "Can you hear your friends?"

"_Remind me to never do that again. Demon earwax is way beyond nasty!"_

She leaned n close to me, bringing her face within inches of my own. "Can you hear them fighting for their world?" The Earth's face was shining with the faintest ray of hope at the new, sudden turn our reality had taken. "I have rarely seen spirits as powerful and free as they. They have the power to reshape the world, Terra – souls like theirs are the key to the future, do you understand that?"

"_Dude, I had no idea I was this tough."_

I felt my mentor's excitement and hope become my own as the full implications of what I was hearing and what was really happening sank into my mind. If the Titans were still fighting, then they weren't finished yet.

"_I wish you hadn't seen that. It's really only a temporary condition."_

And Slade was doing…whatever Slade did best.

I could sense a rising feeling of hope and fire from beside me and turned to see my Earth-Mother staring intently at the manacle on her wrist. It looked as real as ever – as tight and secure and confining as ever – but the glowing symbol on its side was changing. It was writhing and twisting all along the metal band, flickering and shuddering as though the power behind it was being driven away and beaten down.

"_If we cannot defeat ourselves, perhaps we can defeat each other!"_

As we watched in wonder, the bright, burning _**S**_on the fancy handcuff faded to nothing for a handful of seconds before reappearing more incendiary and more brightly than it had been only seconds earlier. It actually bled out off the metal band and trailed up Earth's arm, painting the limb with dozens of other symbols in that sinister, glowing script – as red as blood. Not only did the sight of them terrify me and fill me with no small amount of horror, but some malevolent power behind the burning glyphs forced the Earth to collapse and land on her knees beside me, wailing suddenly in the agonizing onslaught of Trigon's Power.

"**Your victory means nothing. You merely prolong your suffering. The rule of Mortals has ended. This world belongs to ME!"**

Without thinking, I fell to the floor beside my mentor and wrapped my arms around her shaking shoulders. I ignored her dying sounds of pain as best I could, choosing instead to comfort her in any small way as Trigon's…tantrum…slowly calmed down.

Whimpering softly in the aftermath, the Earth-Spirit carefully shifted around so that she was seated on the floor with her back against the door. She raised her hand to her forehead to sweep her honey-gold strands of hair away from her eyes and smiled tiredly at me – sadly. "Perhaps our hope is a little premature, Terra." She held up her left hand for emphasis, showing me that the burning, foreign characters were still inscribed on her body all the way up her arm to the shoulder. Fortunately, they didn't seem to be causing her any harm anymore. "His attention has left me for the moment, but I fear that could change quite easily…"

I didn't miss the brief shadow of fear that passed behind the Earth's dulled cerulean eyes. Can he," I wasn't really sure I wanted to know the answer to this one, "can he kill you?"

My…creator's expression tightened, her eyes pinching tightly in a not so hidden thrill of worry. "He could destroy me," she replied slowly, "but he will not." She tried to smile reassuringly at me, but the gesture wasn't quite able to reach her eyes. "The King needs his Throne, after all. He still draws Power from the dimension of his origin, from the Portal through which he came to this place, and I am its keeper… So I am safe from death." The glyphs on her arm flickered once as though to argue the matter and her face twitched at the sudden pain. She chuckled suddenly, shaking her head at our situation. "Although, you can see I'm not quite safe from harm."

I hung my head. "I wish I could do more for you."

This time, the Earth's smile carried high enough to light a tiny spark in her eyes. "You are doing all that you can, child. That is enough."

"No!" I stood up abruptly. "It's not enough!" I was stunned at my own outburst but I shouldn't have been. The Earth may have been defeated and overtaken by Trigon's evil, but she was still here, and she was still holding onto the hope that it could be defeated, no matter how slim the chance. That was the kind of indomitable strength I'd always fought so hard to attain, the kind of eternally hopeful courage that I'd so foolishly thought was mine.

I don't think I had ever known the true meaning of courage…not even in the last five minutes of my life, when I'd cast my master aside in a fit of rage.

"_Nobody can beat him. I remember that. You came down here for nothing."_

"_I came down here for you."_

Forcing myself to be calm, I sat down on the floor beside my mentor and just let the voices wash over me.

"_It's the end of the world, but so what? We're still here. Still fighting. Still Friends."_

"_Look at me Robin!"_

Raven sounded so young all of a sudden – like she'd lost all the experience that life had taught her and reclaimed some measure of innocence.

"_There's nothing I can do!"_

But I'd never heard her so distressed, so desperate.

"_There isn't any hope."_

So _defeated_.

With all I knew, I considered Raven to be the strongest of all the Titans, perhaps the strongest person alive. Sure she couldn't transform herself or create cool gadgets or throw fireballs or anything like that, but she had it all where it counted. Deep down in her heart, she had found the courage of spirit to stand in the face of all she had been taught and refused to believe that it was all she could be. She had fought against the prophecy of her birth and she had become a stronger person for it.

As futile as the effort seemed now, I couldn't help but feel the struggle had been worth it.

"_Then I guess I'll just have to have enough hope for the both of us."_

And you could always trust the fearless leader to pull some kind of optimistic one-liner out of the air.

"_You can screech all you want, but we're not going down without a fight!"_

And Cyborg. I felt a smile slide across my face. He was the funny-man, but he could switch from jokes to deep, personal discussions – or furious world-defending Warrior – as easily as flipping a card. He had been a _good_ friend, for that brief period when I'd actively cared enough for them.

"Terra," the Earth-Spirit turned to look at me carefully. "Trigon's rule will end," she stated with eerie finality, "It will either be this fight or the next or maybe one of the fights beyond the horizon, but someday…he will lose." She turned to look me straight in the eye, a strange, intense gleam sparkling in her shining sapphire eyes. "And when that day comes, my child, you will be freed from your prison. You will be free to walk the Earth once more and I will have new lessons to teach you…if you are willing to learn this time."

As if I really needed to consider the pros and cons of _this_ decision.

"I'm in," I promised quietly. It was about time I did things the right way instead of the easy way.

"Good," my creator favoured me with a warm smile. "Now listen to your friends and think about what it means to be courageous…and _free_.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the door behind us as the voices continued beyond it.

"_This is _your_ story Raven, and I'm not sure what happens next."_

Wasn't it just like the Titans to rush into a hopeless cause _not knowing_? They never knew the meaning of the words "quit" or "impossible".

"_I know it seems hopeless, but I believe that when the time is right, you will know what to do."_

And wasn't it also the mark of a Titan to throw everything into that last desperate and hopeless hope? Even when the chances were rock bottom zero, the Titans never gave up. They fought on with everything they had against every clue that said it just wasn't possible. Against all enemies and obstacles they struggled, not because they had some insight into the final outcome, not because they knew that somehow they would succeed and win the day, but for one simple reason alone:

Because it was right.

And that relentless tenacity was why humans were so dangerous, why the species had against all odds risen to become Lord and Master of their planet. Well, in name if not in fact. There was no force or entity in existence that could profess to have true mastery over the Earth – not even Trigon had taken full control of my creator. All he had done was to strip her of her powers and claim them as his own.

But the thing that made humanity so dangerous was the way that they had been forced to struggle and fight for every step of their survival ever since their infancy. It made sense when I thought about it. In a world of predators or prey, what possible advantage did Man have over all the others – what could even come close to justifying His place among the predators?

It was all in the mind, I thought. Were it not for Man's brain – his limitless factory and breeding ground for innovation – Humans would have fallen to the myriad other predators that had already risen to prominence back when we were young. Man was far from the strongest or the fastest creature on the planet. We had no claws or fangs, our senses were duller, our awareness was pitiful…

But where other species would change and adapt themselves to suit the environment, die off or move on, Humans had stubbornly sought to manipulate the environment to suit them. We had no claws so we made our own, fashioning bones or rock into our crude tools of survival. We were weak so we eventually learned to create machines to make it easier, beginning with the simple and growing increasingly complex as our needs grew larger.

So, despite the odds that stood against us, Mankind had flourished and crowned himself Master of his world. And that self-proclaimed title still remained eons later. Instead of moving away from Earthquake zones, we changed the way we built our towering monuments to our own self-importance. In the wake of hurricanes and other examples of the Earth's fury, we simply came back and rebuilt all that had been torn down.

And yet the Earth would always have the final say. My mentor had her moments of pleasantness, of sunshine and clear skies and stable mountains, but she was the very definition of untamed. Perhaps Man could build himself a fortress that could withstand the Earth's tempests and tectonic tantrums, but He was still powerless to do anything but weather the storm until it was past.

Did that mean the Titans stood a chance against Trigon, though?

"**I have endured your existence long enough."**

"_For the record, I'm nobody's servant."_

"_Titans – GO!"_

That surprised me. Robin's tone had actually held some emotions in that familiar phrase…almost like desperation but not as hopeless or pathetic. Maybe like stubborn desperation…or determined desperation, if that made sense at all. Bird-boy was certainly under no illusions that this fight would be easy – I wasn't even sure if he really believed it was _possible_ to beat the malevolent demon.

"_**ENOUGH!"**_

I felt the Earth flinch beside me as the Power in Trigon's voice affected her, causing the writing on her arm to spread a little farther, writhing and dancing in a mesmerizing display. "Terra," she whispered suddenly, "I have a confession to make."

Huh? I turned and studied my creator's face. "What?"

She closed her eyes and I felt her hand slide into mine. I reflexively tightened my grip on the warm hand, hoping I was giving her as much comfort from the contact as I was taking. "It was no accident that you are here with me."

I think I had an idea of what that meant, but… "What do you mean?"

Earth tried to smile, but it looked so tense. "When Trigon came, I feared for you so I took you under my care. I tore you from your world so I could be certain that you would be safe."

I restrained myself from scoffing at her. _This_ was what she was worried about – that I would resent her for taking me against my will? Well, I guess the Terra I had been before being imprisoned would have been just a little irked by the…kidnapping, but now? Not a chance.

I squeezed her hand tight and leaned a little closer to her. "You're my…other mother," I still hesitated over what to call her. She wasn't my mother, but I couldn't call her _Dad _and keep a straight face. "You're entitled to a few…privileges." I smiled up at her uncertainly.

The Earth smirked minutely at me, probably more amused by my thoughts than my words. "Come now, Terra." She waved around the room with her free hand, the other securely held in mine. "Do you really think I can be confined to a physical environment like this unless I allowed it?" She laughed quietly, a pleasant, comforting sound. "When will you learn, my child?" Her smile was gentle and warm like the sunrise, "the reason that you see me this way is because you _want _to see me this way, in _here_." She tapped my chest with our clasped hands. "But a heart can change over time as surely as the mountains form. Come back in a few years and maybe you'll see a different face." She openly grinned this time at my obvious confusion. "If anything," she gestured to her face, "_this_ should be proof enough that it's time you went home and talked to your mother."

I sat beside her in stunned silence. Okay, going back home, I could do that. I didn't like the idea – was actually down right not-fond of it, but it was about time Mom found out what really happened on that mountainside. That was simple enough, if not easy. But, that other thing…

"Come back?" I turned to stare into the patient, peaceful sky-blue eyes of my…my master.

"**You may have retained some trance of my power, but you are still no threat to me, **_**little girl**_

Earth's smile lost some of it's brightness at the sudden intrusion, but she remained mostly reassuring and calm. "You're my daughter, and you've had great power for many years, but you have only just begun to discover your full potential." A bit of mischief slithered into her tone, "I'm not done teaching you yet, my child. You have many, many years yet before you'll be rid of me."

"**I am your creator. Your MASTER!"**

The words seemed to have lost much of their power now that I was suddenly so tightly focused on the conversation in front of me. And what she had just said had given me a wild idea that couldn't possibly be true…could it? "Years…?"

"You're my…daughter." She smirked and looked a hair's breadth away from bursting into a laughing fit, "You're entitled to a few…privileges."

I couldn't help but let out a sudden giggle despite the situation outside the door.

"**What hope could a mere child have of defeating her all-powerful Father?"**

It was quite interesting, the contrast between Raven's father and…mine. I glanced up into the Earth's face and felt a sudden jolt of fear course through my mind. Would she be anything like…him?

Sensing my thoughts, the Earth shifted her position so she could face me head-on. "Listen to me, Terra." She raised our clasped hands and reached up to wrap her free hand around them, smiling when my other hand joined it. "I will not lie to you – learning from me will be difficult." She released her grip on my hands and stood up slowly, drawing herself up proudly, exuding an air of authority and _power_ that I hadn't seen before. "I am the Earth. I am untamed and wild. I will push you to your limits and demand more. I am uncompromising; power such as mine and such as I will teach you can be among the most dangerous – to yourself and to all who surround you." Her eyes had been steadily darkening until they were now almost as black as the thickest storm clouds, as hard as granite and as cold as glaciers. "I will not be satisfied easily, and I will accept nothing less than your absolute obedience and control." Her gaze warmed suddenly and she reached down one hand for me. "But I am not cruel, and I am not unfair." She held my gaze for a silent moment. "Will you learn from me?"

I accepted her hand without hesitation. "I will," I vowed. After studying under Slade's _gentle_ fist, I couldn't imagine my…father's lessons being any worse. The fact was, they'd probably be better; I actually _liked_ my teacher this time.

"_You may have created me…"_

A sudden tremor swept through the room as my Master pulled me to my feet, and I think I noticed the markings on her arm beginning to shake and lose a little of their light. I wasn't completely sure, however…

"_But you were _never_ my father."_

Earth pulled me close, her eyes boring into mine with a sudden fire, an abruptly revealed…_intensity_ that I hadn't yet seen in her. "Listen, Terra," she grinned wildly, her eyes dancing, "It's time."

"_Fathers are kind."_

In that instant, the door to the room burst open and I was thrown across the room like I was nothing by the flood of brilliant, pure light that fairly exploded into the closed space.

"_Fathers protect you."_

I opened my eyes and searched for the Earth, only to find her standing right where I'd left her, unmoved by the massive display of force – unaffected by Raven's sudden surge of power. No – wait…not unmoved.

"_Fathers raise you."_

As the light of Raven's echoing words bathed the Earth in their awesome, blinding luminescence, I could only watch my Master in wide-eyed wonder.

All across her arm, where before there had been the sharp, crimson writing claiming her as Trigon's there were now only bands of white light, enveloping it in bandages of pure, healing energy. And as for the Manacle…

"_I was protected by the monks of Azarath."_

It was _gone_. Not surrounded by light, not lying on the ground, just…gone.

"_I was raised by my friends."_

I was floored by the incredible strength and unbridled, immense…_Power_ behind Raven's words. No longer was she the quiet, brooding sorceress that I knew; gone was the girl who had stubbornly locked her emotions away in a box. No, here was a Raven who was facing that which she feared most, that which she had feared all her life, and that which had threatened her friends, her family, and her home. Here was a Raven consumed by Rage, but tempered with a Righteous purity that kept her incredible power focused in the right direction.

I felt those words fill me as a lungful of air, breathing life into me such that I had never known before. I watched as the same seemed to be happening to the Earth; the light striking her and cleansing her of all traces of Trigon's influence before refilling her with a Life and energy that knew absolutely no limits.

"_They are my family, this is my home, and you are not welcome here!"_

The very same light that had filled the Earth to bursting suddenly exploded outward from somewhere deep within her body, obliterating the form my subconscious mind had created to act as a vessel for the Spirit of the World. Freed from the confining imprisoning form, what I was left to face was…beyond words, beyond understanding.

There was nothing occupying the space where my Master had just stood, and yet at the same time there was _Everything_. Light and Darkness, Life and Death, Fire and Water, Earth and Sky, Flesh and Bone… I was faced with the true nature of my Father for a single heartbeat and I was instantly beyond my limits – cash in my chips, I was done, I'm out of here, I was just – _wow._ I could not fathom the…thing that stood before me.

It drifted toward me and I cringed away in sudden fear, but then I felt the same arms that had held me only minutes earlier envelop me once again as securely and completely as a chrysalis. "Be Free Terra." I heard the words half as a song to my heart and mind, and half as a whisper into my ear. "Come back to me someday, but for now…" It pulled away a thousand miles, and yet still stood right in front of me – close enough to kiss. "Go home and be with your family and friends…"

I felt the Spirit give me a little push and I was floating away from this…place, Raven's voice reaching out to me for one last thought before darkness took hold of me and I faded out of awareness once again…only this time I wasn't steeped in fear.

"_Azarath, Metrion, __**ZINTHOS!**_

This time, I was filled with Hope…and Peace.

* * *

**A\N**: Ah, there we have it at long last…another Chapter from me. Sorry to keep y'all waiting. I'd love to hear what anyone thinks about this lovely story o' mine. And until next time…


	8. The Last Steps to Freedom

**Title: **Stone Cold Body, Warm Heart – The last steps to Freedom

**Rating:** I'd say PG-15.

**Spoilers:** None.

**Disclaimer:** All credit and ownership of Teen Titans the animated series belongs to Warner Brothers.

A great big THANK YOU to Solanaa, my new beta reader. Thank you so much!

* * *

**CHAPTER 8 - The Last Steps to Freedom  
**

I opened my eyes to darkness and the sound of rushing water.

Well, it wasn't really complete darkness; I still had my narrow, hopeful circle of warm light amidst the endless shadows and stillness that had become my world for the past little while of my life. I looked around and lowered myself to the ground with a frustrated huff.

So much for being free.

I was once again trapped in my body, imprisoned and banished from the physical world. I could still feel the cold, solid rock beneath my feet and the occasional brush of a wind current across my arms or my face, but control of my muscles eluded me constantly. It frustrated me to no end. I had met my father, rebuilt the bridges I'd torn down in my cocky ignorance, I'd witnessed Raven's proudest moment – the most pivotal and life-defining event since her very birth. Despite my confinement, I'd been there to hear my friend take the most fearful step of her life, deciding to cross her father and defend her friends.

And yet I was still stuck here.

Why?

I guess it was funny in some twisted way; living through the end of the world only to come back to where I started. It honestly wasn't all that surprising, really. If truth be told, I never really expected to be free after leaving the Earth's company. I was pretty sure if anyone could free me – other than Raven that is – it would be the planet who had sired me, but she had not seen fit to do so. Maybe it was another much-needed lesson in patience or perhaps a form of discipline from my other parent – Lord knew I could use a couple more of those –, but I was still trapped here in this world unless Raven came down and finished what she started. It was just a question of when _that _would happen.

I heard an unexpected flutter of cloth and then there were hands on my shoulders and the sound of breathing in my ears, echoing quietly in the immense cavern.

"I'm back, Terra."

Well, it was no surprise Raven had crashed my pity party; she seemed to have a knack for interrupting my most thoughtful moments. Honestly, who else would it have been? But still, how had she snuck up on me so suddenly?

"I'm here to finish it," there was a strange, uncharacteristic tremor in her voice – something I should have easily recognized by didn't because it was _Raven_ whose voice sounded so – so…emotional. "I'm here to tear the rest of Slade's technology out of you."

She was excited.

Like, honestly and truly excited.

_Raven_, the dark, brooding face of the Teen Titans was showing emotions so freely it was completely out-of-character. It was beyond unusual, it was freaking weird.

"I'll bet you're glad to hear it," the hands on my shoulders left suddenly and I heard footsteps…dancing around me. I – I had no other way to explain my friend and rescuer's movements around my stone cold body. Her footfalls were too quick to be just a walking pace, and too irregular to be anything but a spontaneous round of dancing. Add to that the scratching, shuffling sound of her boots on the stone floor, and I was picturing an excited, happy girl celebrating and simply expressing herself. It definitely didn't fit the picture of Raven I had in my head from when we were last face to face. "I can't wait to be able to talk to you, Terra. I mean _really_ talk to you – like we should have right when we first met." She let out a brief sigh before her voice moved around me in a circle at a surprising speed. "So much has happened since I was last down here with you…"

"Yeah," I spoke aloud to the darkness around me. "I heard you, Raven."

"It was incredible, Terra." She finally stopped moving and stood in front of me, calming quickly as her more peaceful and introspective aspect reasserted itself. "I wish you could have been there to see it."

"Me too," I replied quietly. "I would like to have seen what was happening right then."

"But I'll get right to it then. I'm sure you've have about as much of your stone prison as you can stand." I felt cool fingers touching my face, lightly massaging around my forehead as if searching for a specific point. "My powers have grown a little bit since last time, Terra – I've come to understand them a lot better." Those cold but careful fingers stilled when they reached my temples, and Raven let out another breath and her voice returned to the cool, almost emotionally void quality that I was used to. "This still might take a while," she became even calmer still, "and it will hurt a great deal." She sounded honestly regretful about that, and it was kind of touching despite the futility of the gesture. "But we're going to finish this." The steely determination and resolve in her tone was hard as granite and equally heavy with significance. "It's time you had your freedom, Terra."

The light touch on my face began to grow warm and I felt that soothing heat penetrate deep into my head, probing my skull for whatever traces of Slade's Neural Interface remained fused to my spine and brain. Needless to say, this was the most delicate part of Raven's work to sever the chains my old master still had wrapped around my body. The sorceress' resolve to have this finished at last was simultaneously relieving and worrying. I wanted desperately to be freed from this diamond-rock purgatory, but not at the cost of my friend's health or well-being. I didn't want her to strain her powers farther than she could recover them…even if it meant my continued imprisonment. The telepath must have come to mean far more to me than a means to be freed, I now realized. For her safety – for _anyone_'s safety – to mean so much more to me than my own freedom was something completely foreign to me. It was new and strange and…wonderful.

The sudden lance of fiery sensation interrupted my train of thought. Without Raven's chanting to warn me it came as something of a surprise when my spine abruptly transformed into a pillar of thorny flames.

Trapped here in this _other_world and yet able to move freely beyond my lonely column of light, it stood to reason that I should have been cut off from the outside world. I was cut off from my sight, but why not sound? Good Lord, why not from sensation?

With a strained whimper that went unheard by my friend – I had no thoughts left for screams –, I curled myself into a ball in the center of my unprotected spotlight. It figured the last time under Raven's knife would be the worst.

Then, amidst the furious storm of raging, whirling agony there came a new…cooler feeling – like a rush of glacial water coating my inflamed spinal column for a brief split-second of soothing relief before the roiling wave of fire engulfed me yet again.

"Azarath…"

Another splash of cooling relief flowed down my body and provided me no small measure of comforting escape as I felt icy, ethereal fingers touch my body and withdraw, taking a small sliver of Slade's techno-suit with it. Then the pain returned, striking harder and more deeply than before, tearing at my sanity like some enraged bird of prey. The image of a Raven briefly flitted through my mind – but was gone just as quickly as it had come, banished by the next words from my friend's lips.

"Metrion…"

The infernal pain was driven away once more by the calming, tranquil voice of the very same girl whose namesake had so frightened me only a few beats earlier. I instantly felt a short burst of shame at my momentary doubt. How could I have ever been so afraid to think she'd lash out at me for no reason – that she would come all the way down here simply to cause me unbearable pain? In all our conflicts, wasn't it I who had thrown the first boulder? Hadn't I always been the one with the sharpest tongue the most cutting insults? The most bitter and insidious remarks?

"…Zinthos…"

No, Raven was my _friend_. She would never mean me any harm if I hadn't thrown the first punch. We had mended our fences, resolved our issues with each other. I had finally found the friend and confidante that I had always needed. Raven had been a patient ear for me throughout that whole weekend she'd stayed with me, and she'd given me her word that no one else would hear what was said between us. I could trust Raven with all my secrets – I _had_ trusted Raven with all my secrets. She didn't judge me without thinking like so many others had…

"Azarath…"

Her every word was like a soothing balm on inflamed wounds, the sensation of her powers on my body like barbed, venomous hooks being slowly, painstakingly removed from my neck and head. There was an incredible, horrifying agony coursing through my senses like a knife twisting in my flesh – like a clamp being tightened around my skull with every second. It was like every fibre of Slade's twisted creation was fighting to keep its place in my head, like every molecule of the Neural Interface was tightening its grip on my neurons and driving its claws deeper into my brain with every strand the Surgeon Sorceress pulled out. It was like the last scraps of my old master's puppet-strings were making some last desperate attempt to maintain their hold on my life.

"Metrion. Zinthos."

But Raven's voice dispelled it all

And the cycle went on…

* * *

Until an Earth-shaking scream pierced the silent cathedral of my cavern.

As the last shreds of Slade's Neural Interface were dragged from my body, I felt my world come rushing back to me in a flood of sensation. I felt the transformation like a splash of ice-water from the top of my head to the soles of my feet as my own powers were released from the block Slade had placed on them so many months ago.

In a last-ditch effort to suppress my freed power, I felt the last departing strand of my master's technology send a white-hot pulse out through my nervous system even as they were being shepherded away and dismantled by my dark-spirited saviour. I felt the final farewell shot arc through my body like lightning, tracing over my nerves and setting me alight with a hundred thousand brush-fires as brilliant and intense as the sun. Every cell in my body cried out at the pure, un-diminishing inferno that raged within me, begging Raven to put those pieces of the interface back, to end the pain, to _surrender_ to Slade's will.

But I resisted.

_NO!_ I fought to breathe through the pain as my lungs softened from cold, unyielding marble to warm, soft flesh and my windpipe followed a second behind as my heart too began to pump again at a furious pace. _I'm so close…Raven has given up so much of her time to give me this. Too much for me to give up now._

But…the pain-.

Was gone…?

As abruptly as the fiery, nerve-splitting sensation had struck it was gone just as rapidly, fleeing from my body as freely and quickly as water from a cracked drain pipe…as rapidly and desperately as shadows of night from the Sun.

_Or, in this case, I guess it would be the other way around, wouldn't it?_

I was left standing alone in the darkness with nothing but silence and emptiness to surround and greet my return to the world.

"_Live, Terra…"_

The words drifted up from the deepest layers of the Earth as well as from somewhere within the core of my own scarred and abused heart. I knew the source immediately, recognized the voice without having to even think about it. _Thank you, Father._ It didn't seem as awkward as I thought it would be to use that name._ Thank you, and I'll be back soon._

"_Just live and be free…"_

I felt a ghostly touch against my forehead like a pair of warm, sun-soaked lips, and then it was gone. A smile formed on my own lips.

And then I started to fall.

My eyes opened when I felt warm arms catch me before I could hit the ground, wrapping securely around my chest and pinning my arms to my side. All I could see was hair – my own filthy, dust-encrusted yellow strands intermingling with long, shining strands of violet – _Violet?_

_Raven…_

My first reaction was shame and fear. How could I face her after what I'd done? After the way I'd attacked her city and brutally destroyed their lives, how could I be so naïve to think that we could be friends again? Hadn't I been the one to shatter that trust when I lived with them only to spy on them? How could I think to rebuild that trust again?

Again I resisted.

Raven wasn't naïve, and to think she didn't know what she was doing was an insult to her and to the promise she had given me. The sorceress knew who I was – what I had done – and she was still stepping forward to offer me this precious gift she had only presented to a select few people.

How could I do _anything_ less?

With a determined shake of my head to banish such traitorous, _survivor-Terra_ thoughts to the farthest reaches of the universe, I raised my arms up as well as I could and wrapped them around Raven's body.

Unbidden and without warning, I felt a wave of pent-up emotion break out from behind the dam my imprisonment had constructed. Without that stone wall to keep me distant and numbed to the full effects of my feelings, all the time that I had lost was made so much more real and frightening and overwhelming as it crashed over and through me.

A shuddering sob rose up in my throat and I felt the sting of tears in my eyes as my grip around Raven's body tightened fractionally. Leaning up, I brought my face closer to hers and couldn't help but grin at what I saw.

The shocked, fish-out-of-water look in the sorceress' wide indigo eyes was perfect. She looked so caught off-guard, so out of her element…but there was still a slight smile on her face. She seemed happy to see me in the flesh at last, maybe even a little…pleased with herself for being able to pull it off. There was also something else…and when I identified it, it brought all my tumbling, whirling emotions to a still kind of peace.

Raven was scared.

Scared of exactly what, I couldn't really say; but I could guess it had something to do with my sudden freedom and the immediate future. Now that I once again had the means to pick up what remained of my life and run, what would I do? It was a typical Terra-style reaction to gestures of friendship, and Raven's fear of it was more than enough to tell me she really wanted me to stay.

If that was the case, it was time I stopped running.

"Thank you," I murmured to her. I burrowed my head into her shoulder and loosened my grip so I wasn't crushing her ribcage anymore. "Thank you for everything, Raven."

I felt her arms tighten just slightly around me in acknowledgement. "You're welcome," she said nothing more, and there was a slight tension in her that clued me in to the fact that something was wrong.

It didn't take very long to figure out just what was missing when I realized I was feeling just a little _too_ much of my friend's leotard. "Um…Raven?" And her skin, I was aware of way too much of that.

"Mm, hm?" The tension I could feel in her arms eased off somewhat.

"Um," I pulled back and smiled widely at her suddenly wide-eyed, deer-in-the-headlights look:

"Did you bring me some clothes?"

* * *

**A\N**: There you are, ladies and gents. I hope you enjoyed reading it and will share any advice or ideas you may have with me. This is your adventure too, after all. I'll take any reasonable suggestions seriously. And my writing, criticize my writing if you see the need to.


	9. Freedom Interrupted

**Title: **Stone Cold Body, Warm Heart – Freedom Interrupted.

**Rating:** I'd say PG-15.

**Spoilers:** None.

**Disclaimer:** All credit and ownership of Teen Titans the animated series belongs to Warner Brothers.

* * *

_**Chapter 9**_

Raven looked at me and blushed before looking away…again.

It must have been about the hundredth time she'd done that since we left my underground prison.

We were on our way up to the surface now, she clad all in white – strangely – and me in a light blue t-shirt and black jeans. My dark, comfortable, weather-beaten hiking boots crunched on some loose stones as I tried to think of a way to break the awkward silence between us.

I fiddled a little nervously with the strap of the small duffel bag Raven had packed for me. I hadn't really taken the time to look through it very thoroughly, but I'd seen the tightly rolled bundle of dark blue cloth right away. Of course, bringing _that_ up would only add to the awkward and not-so-subtle glances she was already giving me.

"So…" I felt inspiration strike me suddenly, "how is everyone?"

A thin smile slid across the pale girl's face and I felt all the tension evaporate into nothing. _Yes_, I thought. _When in doubt, ask about the friends._ That was always a safe subject to talk about. "I think they're okay. I didn't really stay long enough afterwards to ask." She paused, a thoughtful frown marring her features. "I didn't think any of them were heavily injured, so I just came straight here to finish breaking you out of Slade's interface."

I stopped walking.

She was walking a little ways ahead of me, but she stopped when she heard me halt in my tracks. "What?" She fixed me with a curiously raised eyebrow.

"You just up and left your friends to come down here and help me?"

Her eyes widened like full moons as she froze in place, her mouth already open to reply. "No…I – uh," she stumbled over her words in her rush to form a reply. It was awfully cute.

And thoughts like that should never be anywhere near my head.

Instead, I pushed the oh-so-very-strange thought away and trotted over to my easily flustered friend. "Aw, Raven…you're paying so much attention to me – Beast Boy might get jealous." I said with a tiny smile so she'd know I was just teasing.

She growled mildly, "Beast Boy," she turned to study the dark tunnel around us, suddenly wary but trying not to act it, "he would be lucky if he could hold a conversation with another girl for five minutes." She smiled tightly at me, her thoughts obviously wandering somewhere far away, "You're much more interesting." Her thoughts came rushing back to our conversation just as the words passed her lips. "T-to talk to – I meant to talk to."

I couldn't help but laugh at her discomfort. "I know that, but the fact that you felt the need to clarify might be a clue to where _your_ head is at."

The warm flush of colour that filled the empath's face was a welcome change from her pale complexion. It wasn't something I wanted to see on a permanent basis because it just wasn't Raven. But still…a little colour every now and then wasn't bad.

"Heart-warming as this conversation is, I really have a schedule to keep."

Raven and I both turned at the interruption and I felt a chill, primal terror take hold of me. _No! Not so soon after she freed me!_ Not when I'd finally made sense of my life…

"I won't go back!"

I felt my powers come alive inside me, awakening and uncurling from their long sleep to lash out at the man, my _demon_. The ground beneath the smug, manipulative monster fell from under his feet and he was instantly falling straight down, unable to brace himself against anything-.

-Until the Earth closed quickly enough to catch him around his shoulders.

He struggled briefly, but gave up soon after – too soon.

"What do you want?"

A low, foreboding chuckle was the first thing to escape from beneath the mastermind's mask. "Terra…so quick to think I'm a threat. I suppose I should be flattered." Even trapped and confined as he was, he somehow managed to pull off a decent shrug. "As far as I'm concerned, you and I have one last bit of business to discuss. I knew Raven would come down here sometime to finish her job, but I had no idea it would be this soon. I must admit, Raven," his head turned to take in Raven's tense, ready stance, "You never cease to surprise me with your many layers."

"We have nothing to talk about, Slade." I raised his body back up out of the ground. "Now, go away."

He ignored me and just reached up to dust himself off, "Really, Terra. I do think you'll be quite interested to hear what I have to say." He turned once again to regard Raven critically. "I'm impressed with you, Raven. It takes a person of exceptionally strong abilities to banish a demon as powerful as Trigon."

She rolled her eyes at him. "If you're hoping I'll lower my guard, you'll be waiting a long time."

Slade showed no reaction to that and instead turned to face me. "So, Terra – do you want to hear what I have to say?"

I stepped back and lowered my hands but I kept my senses alert for anything. "Not really, but I don't suppose you'll ever leave me alone until I've heard you out."

He laughed darkly, "You _have_ learned. Well done, Apprentice."

I dimly felt one of my hands curl into a fist. "I'm not your apprentice."

He made no move to back away from me, nor to attack. "Oh, yes – forgive me." He sounded anything but repentant. "Old habits and all, you know how it is… I haven't forgotten what you did to me – you can be sure of that – so what I'm about to say should not be taken as anything resembling a peace offering or an admission of defeat." He reached one hand into a pocket somewhere behind his body armour's breastplate, making Raven tense even more.

I controlled my reaction, though I really wanted to take a swing at him. "What are you talking about?" Striking first was something Slade did, and I refused to be like him. With a jolt of shame, I realized I had been like him. As soon as I'd laid eyes on him, I'd attacked. Had he really made that much of an impact on me? If so, I had a lot to unlearn with my new mentor. The feel of Raven's hand on my shoulder prompted another thought to enter my mind.

I could also learn from her.

Slade's hand slowed as it withdrew from his pocket, but I continued to fight back the urge to bring this tunnel down on his head. "I'm merely congratulating you, my dear Terra; we never really did get a chance to talk after we had our falling out, did we?"

I snorted while maintaining a careful watch on the devious snake. "What would you have said if we had?"

His dark, amused laugher definitely wasn't something I missed. "Why are you so worried, Terra?" He spread his gauntleted hands and I saw the envelope in his right hand. "It took five Titans to fight me to a standstill back when I tried to recruit Robin, but you – you defeated me all on your own. So now I find myself in the unenviable position of having to congratulate you for surpassing me." Before I could react, he'd grabbed my hand and transferred the envelope from his possession to mine. "Happy graduation, Terra – but you can be sure you will see me again someday. I am not in the habit of letting my enemies get away with beating me, so consider this truce temporary." He pulled away.

I refused to take my eyes off him to examine the unwelcome gift in my hand, "and when does this truce end?"

He only stepped backward into the shadows, "Goodbye Terra."

Then he was gone.

There weren't even footsteps.

I mean, how on Earth did he do that? We were standing in the middle of a tunnel two miles underground; he'd had only two directions to choose from. And yet he somehow managed to completely vanish.

Raven moved forward to investigate the darkened tunnel. "Where did he go – through the wall?"

I shook my head, shrugging silently as I looked down at the small white envelope in my hand.

Glancing back at me, Raven noticed the object Slade left in my hand and she stared at it suspiciously. "Do you think it's a trap?"

"I don't know," I replied honestly, turning the heavy thing over in my hands. "It does seem like something he would do, but for some reason…I don't feel like it's a trap."

Taking stock of our surroundings yet again, Raven moved a little closer and studied the envelope a little more curiously. "Well, we can either stand here staring at it or we can tempt fate and open it."

I shook the envelope from side to side, "are you sure that's a good plan?" From the feel of the whatever-it-was sliding around inside, I gathered it could be one of a few things – none of which anything I could imagine being given by my old master.

Raven shrugged simply, "No, but it's the only plan I have now." She smirked minutely, "And I have the same feeling as you; I think it's safe." A sudden, cautious look stole across her face as she carefully took the innocent envelope from my hands and tossed it into the air, catching it within a solid sphere of dark magic. "But maybe you should let me open it?" She looked to me for final permission.

At my nod, she turned back to the dark ball and held her hand out to catch the contents of the envelope as they slipped free of it. "Now, here you are." She handed me a small index card and something even stranger:

A key.

Raven and I both stared at the shiny grey-metal key. "Is that…?" The sorceress looked at me a little strangely, "You and Slade never dated, right?"

I gaped at her, torn between feeling insulted or nauseous at the completely unwelcome images the other girl's words had formed in my mind. "What? _Ew_ – no!"

"Okay," she thought quietly for a moment before starting to walk down the tunnel again. "So it's probably not a key to his place."

I followed, unsuccessfully trying to suppress my revulsion. "Gross – I really hope not." I shuddered and slapped Raven's shoulder. "What's wrong with you? How could you put such disgusting thoughts in my head?"

Raven looked away, "I'm sorry, it was just an idea."

"A really bad one," my protesting insides calmed way too slowly for my taste. "Please, tell me you never actually thought Slade and I were…"

The other girl waved her hands emphatically. "Oh, no – I never…" She paused for a moment before going on, staring at the ground beneath her feet as we walked. "Well, the thought did cross my mind a couple times." She seemed unwilling to meet my eyes – even in the very dim light provided by the reflection of her flashlight around the tunnel. "I was trying to think of what could have drawn you over to him, and Beast Boy had just been yammering into my ear for three hours about the _fantastic_ romantic comedy/thriller movie he'd seen so the idea just kind of…crept in."

Succeeding in the battle with my gag reflex, I was able to turn and smile tensely at Raven. "Well, you shouldn't think about that anymore. I never liked him that way. Goodness – he's, like, three times my age or something!" I shuddered again, but the reaction was much less pronounced than before. "If anything, he was like a father to me," I paused uncertainly, "an angry, psychotic, sadistic, evil father…" I smiled a little more widely at a new thought, and I found myself speaking before I could stop myself. "I'll admit he's a lot less…evil…than _your_ dad – is that why you're so interested in him?"

It was Raven's turn to splutter out incoherent denials. "No – I never…ew…" she trailed off, her face a little paler than was healthy, "…That's revolting; why would you think I liked him?"

"Well," I took a moment to think about it. "It would explain your obsession with this topic." I perked up as a random fact I'd learned from a library book surfaced from my memory. "Oh – and I think Freud says we girls tend to look for our fathers in mates…or something like that." I smirked, "and Slade is definitely more like _your_ father than mine."

"But-," Raven stalled mid-thought, "What?" She stared at me curiously, latching onto the subject change like a life preserver. "How would you know that? I thought you said your father died after you were born."

"He did," I replied. _Sort of_, "but guess what – I met him." I grabbed onto my quiet friend's arm and walked a little faster in my excitement. "I finally met my dad, Raven."

She turned to look at me, her obvious interest showing but also disbelieving. "When – how? How did you meet a dead person?"

Bah – nothing Raven said could shake my smile. "Well, he didn't really die; it's kinda complicated."

The dark mage rolled her eyes at me, "Okay – let's start small." She studied my face and my wide smile. "Who is your father?"

I laughed out loud and leaned against my friend lightly. "You're standing on him – it – her…" My brow furrowed in concentration as I tried again to puzzle that out.

She glanced down at the ground beneath us, a slight smile forming on her lips. "So, there really is a Spirit in the Earth." She turned that amused smile on me, "But it sounds like you're a little confused about what to call it."

I stepped away from her, glaring good-naturedly. "Hey come on, I was confused and disoriented. It was a 'she' when I saw her, but she said she wasn't my mother…and then it was talking about how it took all this energy to have me with mom."

Raven nodded slowly, thinking it all over. "It makes sense, I guess." We continued on in silence for a while before she spoke again. "You can't really classify the Earth as any particular gender. I think it's likely its appearance will probably change if you meet it again. And having children isn't something the planets normally do."

"Yeah," I replied, "she said something like that…right before offering to teach me about my powers."

A slight smile crossed the sorceress' face. "I'm sure…she'll be a better teacher than Slade ever was – maybe a little tougher, but better."

I grinned at her. "Yeah, but I'm looking forward to it no matter how tough it'll be."

Raven shook her head at me, "You're crazy." Her white cloak fluttered around her legs as we walked, drawing my attention once more to the new colour.

"So, tell me." I glanced over at her, my smile fading a little in the face of her normal, stoic attitude. "When did you change your uniform? And your hair's all long…" Before I could stop myself, my hand was moving forward to brush my fingers through her straight, soft violet hair. I only did it once to make sure the empath wouldn't get too angry at me, but – goodness, if it wasn't the nicest hair I'd ever felt. It hung in just a perfect stream to Raven's waist, waving gently and twitching as she walked a little in front of me.

She looked down at her cloak self-consciously, ignoring what I'd just done. "I didn't really change it, it just…reflects my emotions." She shrugged slightly, "White means they're all balanced – not in conflict with each other." A hand reached up to replace a more adventurous strand of hair back behind her right ear. "And I'm not quite sure why my hair grew out."

"I like it," I blurted out, cursing myself the instant I said it as a sudden rush of blood filled my face.

"Hm," Raven made a thoughtful sound, running her pale fingers slowly through the long, flowing strands. "I kind of do too, but it'll get in the way in fights. I'll probably cut it before the big victory breakfast Cyborg and Beast Boy are most likely planning."

The strange twitch of disappointment through my mind was unexpected and more than a little unsettling. "What does blue mean?" I tried to change the subject. These sudden feelings weren't something I wanted to think about now. Or ever.

And especially not with Raven walking beside me, staring at me with those wide…indigo…eyes.

Oh, _Goodness_…

"Blue's my favourite colour," she replied with an indifferent shrug, either ignoring my inner turmoil or oblivious to it. "My cloak doesn't always reflect my emotions." _Oh I hope it's the second one,_ I thought desperately as she continued on with a small grin. "So don't get used to the white, I'll be wearing normal clothes tomorrow."

I groaned quietly as we continued on our way. "Tomorrow…"

This time Raven acted on the sudden downturn of my emotions, "What's wrong?"

I studied the tunnel floor, kicking at a few loose stones. "Earth made me promise…" _Ugh_, this was going to be so hard. "She made me promise to go back home and visit my," I swallowed back my fear with difficulty, "…my mom."

My friend's eyes widened and filled with a kind understanding. "Yes, I can see how that would be difficult." She stopped walking and just leaned back against the cold stone walls of the tunnel. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Well, that was a shock – Raven offering to help me just like that. Then again, maybe it wouldn't have been so surprising if we had actually been friends when I was pretending to be. "I don't even know if I can do it, Raven…" I leaned against the wall across from her. "I mean, I'm the reason she doesn't have a son anymore. I don't think I can face her."

The tunnel was filled with only the silence of our thoughts for a few long moments.

And just when I was beginning to think Raven wouldn't say anything, she spoke up slowly, her tone as serious as I'd ever heard it. "You can't change that, Terra – not by staying away, and not by going back. But think about this:" she stared into my eyes with her own, deadly serious glare. "While you're staying away, while you're spending your life doing everything but going home," but she didn't seem angry or upset with me, "while you keep running from your family," she was just…intense. "You're also the reason she doesn't have a daughter – and _that's_ something you can change."

I froze halfway through disagreeing with her. I had never thought of it that way, "Do you really think it'll be okay?" I stared down at my hands. Could I really do it? "Do you really think she won't just have me thrown out of her home or arrested or something?"

"I don't know," she replied honestly. "I don't know how anything will turn out, but I do know this," She slid down the wall so she was more or less seated on the ground. "Things will turn out the way they're supposed to and it's not our place to know what that is beforehand." She tilted her head to one side thoughtfully. "If things with your mother don't turn out well, you should remember that you have another…parent…who's offered to help you," she then looked down at the ground, hesitating, "And you _do _have one friend who will stand by you no matter what happens."

I smiled at her awkward confession, "Even though she's really sitting?"

She scowled up at me, "Try to be serious." A thin smile took most of the bite out of her words.

I pushed off my wall and stepped forward to sit down in front of her, our knees almost touching. "I'm being completely serious." I studied her face carefully. "Thank you, Raven," I smiled as she shifted uncomfortably under the gratitude. "Thank you for being there for me."

She looked down at the ground quickly, but not before I caught sight of the slight pink glow on her cheeks. "Someone had to be," she mumbled quietly. "How else do you think I became a Titan when my heritage is nothing short of pure evil? Robin and the others were there for me." She shrugged suddenly, brushing the subject aside. "I just did what any of the others would have if they could."

"But they couldn't," I argued. "None of them could do what you did; that's my point." I waved a hand between the two of us. "You do all that you can, Raven. I wouldn't expect any of the Titans to do more than they can, but the fact that you did this means so much to me." This time, I was the one to look away, "Besides…" I felt a slight blush colour my cheeks, "part of me is really glad it was you and not any of the others."

"Why's that?" I'm not sure if it was my imagination, but I thought I could sense a slight hint of amusement in her voice.

I decided honesty was probably best. "Of all the Titans, _you_ are the one I hurt the most. I know that; you can't hide it from me." I took the chance and looked up into her eyes. She looked a little uncomfortable, but that was normal behaviour from her when there was talk of emotions. "I didn't insult any of the others for believing I was on their side. I didn't rub my betrayal in any of their faces – only yours. And if there's one thing you take pride in – aside from your magic – it's your ability to read people." I turned back to staring at the dark tunnel floor. "I broke that, and then I came back to rub it in." I shook my head slowly, "In some ways, your forgiveness – this second chance…it means so much more coming from you than from anyone else." I smiled tightly at her, "So, thank you."

She studied me curiously for a long, silent few moments before a low, dark chuckle emerged from the back of her throat, something I would expect to hear from Slade but it lacked the darkness and…sinister aura that my old slave-master projected. "And you say _I've _got conflicted feelings."

I stared at her, confused, "Um…what?"

She raised an eyebrow, smirking at me. "Well, Terra…" her voice was just dripping with her dark amusement. "I never knew you liked me so much."

That brought me up to speed faster than anything. "I-no, I don't-," I waved my hands frantically. "I mean, I do like you, but not – not…" I couldn't even finish my denial. How pathetic was that?

She laughed a little more lightly at me, "Terra – relax." She reached out and gently patted my knee. "I'm only teasing."

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself before glaring across the distance at my suddenly playful friend. "That was mean."

Of course, I could only hold my unhappy expression for a few heartbeats before breaking down into a giggling fit.

Raven's smile held a lot less mischief now – it was a lot warmer…more friendly. "Hey, it was just an idea." Not that her mischief had really been all that _un-_friendly. "I'm just trying to figure out why you think so highly of me; I'm not really one of the best friends you've ever had."

I nodded slowly, acknowledging that she was right. Then again, I'd never been the best friend to her either, had I? Well…

No more.

"Would it seem normal to you," I started suddenly in a quiet, contemplative voice, "For a girl's role model to be younger than she is?"

Raven's eyes went wide again. "What are you saying…?" Her gaze seemed to search my own for the answer before brightening in abrupt, surprised comprehension. "When did this happen…and why?"

I shrugged, "Probably sometime after I found out about your dark, evil secret. But as for the why," I tried to search for the words; I knew why she had become such an important person in my life, but putting it into words… "I don't really know," that much was true, to a point. I'd never had a role model before – I was too busy hating my family and then running from the world. I could be making the biggest mistake of my life, choosing Trigon's daughter as my role model…but something in my heart told me it was actually one of the better decisions of my life. I could really do a_lot_ worse than Raven. "I guess…" I finally broke the thoughtful silence hanging between us. "I guess I just saw how hard you fought against the prophecy – how hard you tried to prove everyone wrong. Everyone who knew you – the _real_ you – said that you would bring about the end of the world, that your purpose was only evil." I brushed my hand across the loose rocks that lay around the two of us. "If it was me, I would have just started running, but you didn't. You chose a place to make your home, you made friends, you lived…while you still could – and in your own special way," I smirked, "You tried to use your powers for something other than evil and you became a good person, a hero…"

She shifted uncomfortably again, clearly unused to the constant attention or the praise. "You know, what I did – what I was trying to do – it was just another way of running away."

"So?" I tossed a pebble up into the air and then used my powers to keep it up in the air, bobbing and spinning. "How many people's lives did you save while you were running? How many criminals were you able to stop?" I sighed as I thought of how few of each of those I'd done before I'd come to Jump City. "Running isn't so bad if something worthwhile comes from it."

I could see Raven's understanding and her agreement, but I could also see that she still wasn't happy with my choice of role models. "I'm not perfect, you know. I have a lot of flaws."

"Of course you do," I agreed. "You wouldn't be normal if you didn't have your flaws." I let the stone I'd been playing with fall to the ground with a sharp _clak_. "But role models don't have to be perfect…" I studied her face seriously for a moment, "Just better than you."

She nodded again, finally accepting that she wouldn't be able to change my decision. And then a curious look entered her expression. "Just how old are you?"

I grinned at the less than subtle subject change. "I was seventeen when I went into my…stone skin… how long has that been?"

She looked startled. "You've been down here a little over two years."

My eyes widened. Two years – that long? I felt my heart skip a whole handful of beats before I turned a mild glare on my friend, "And you only visited me four times?"

She winced at my accusation, as if she had only just realized what she'd said. "I'm sorry," she almost whispered, "Jump City's always been busy for crime-fighting and the past year, with the prophecy…" she hung her head. "I'm sorry, Terra," she breathed the words almost too low for me to hear.

I laughed suddenly and moved forward to capture the sorceress in a tight hug. "It's all right, Raven." She looked at me as if I'd grown a third arm. "Really, it is," I promised. "I knew back when we started that it would take a while before I'd be free, so I was ready for an answer like that." I laughed again at her disbelieving look. "Okay, so maybe I wasn't quite expecting that answer. But I wouldn't have been surprised if you'd said something like one year, a year-and-a-half maybe."

She smirked lightly, "Is two years really that much longer?"

I returned the smile, drawing back out of the hug. "I guess not." I reclaimed my seat in front of her. "Two years, huh?" I tried to remember what the date was when I'd turned myself to stone. "What day is it?"

Raven paused, and for a split second I thought she wouldn't answer. "May 12th."

My shoulders slumped as the impact of the time lapse really hit me. Seven years… I had been running for seven years now. "I'm nineteen years old…" I murmured quietly. "I'm almost twenty years old," I whispered. "And what do I have to show for my life…?"

Raven slid forward, sensing my turmoil as she just silently wrapped her arms around me and held me close, pulling my head into her shoulder as the reality of it all really sank in.

Seven years…

My entire teenage life…

I had wasted every day of it.

Every single one.

I killed my brother.

I stole away from my home in the night.

I cut all ties with any form of friendship or companionship.

I dropped out of school at twelve.

I was penniless.

I finally encountered a brief spark of hope, but fear and my stupid, childish impulsiveness had caused me to push it away.

I found sanctuary with the last man I ever should have trusted.

I trained my powers to be a weapon of dreadful destruction.

I destroyed Jump City.

I attacked those who should have been my friends.

I killed my teacher.

I spent two years trapped in stone…

So much time…

So much _waste_.

I pulled back from Raven and scrubbed angrily at my eyes in a futile effort to make the tears go away. It was ridiculous. I could create all the fury of a volcano at our feet, I could crush boulders with a thought – and yet I was overcome by tears? Again? I was pathetic! I was supposed to be firm, stubborn, unfeeling like a rock. Rocks never cried.

'_Silly, Terra…does it always take you so long to learn?'_

I relaxed immediately at the sound of Earth's voice in my head. Annoyed, angry…but loving at the same time, gentle as the distant voice spoke to my very soul.

'_You're right, rocks do not cry. It is not their purpose.'_

Was this what lessons from the Earth would be like?

'_But you are so very much more than a rock, aren't you?'_

Firm, but gentle pushes in the right direction? Never abusive, never coddling?

'_You are my daughter, Terra. Child of the Earth.'_

Oh…Goodness. Why hadn't I signed up sooner?

'_And the Earth is more than just bare, unfeeling Rock, isn't it?'_

I couldn't help the tears as they returned with a vengeance. This was what I was meant for, what I was meant to be.

'_The Earth is fire, passion, heat, destruction untameable.'_

I felt it then, all the fire and fury of which my master was capable. I felt the burning passion, the energy, the lust for life. _Oh, my…_I had never felt anything like this before – never known such full, rich emotion. I thought the Earth was without life, without feeling? I must have been out of my mind; I could never have been farther from the truth.

'_The Earth is rivers, oceans, clouds, water, tears…sorrow.'_

I felt Raven's arms around me as my tears flowed unrestricted – un-resisted. It was not wrong to cry. It was not weakness, but strength – such incredible strength. The skies constantly wept, the Earth was always in mourning somewhere, for something. But even in the throes of its impassioned sorrow, was my master ever powerless? The rain brought life to the land, allowing bare and barren soil to burst forth with all the forests of the World. Ocean waves, tropical storms, flowing rivers, wild floodwaters…they all brought new growth to the land. Changing the makeup of earth and soil, bringing fertility to the arid wastelands, reshaping whole continents…was this weakness?

'_The Earth is all you see and feel, Terra. I am all this and so much more – never believe that you are meant to feel anything less.'_

I burrowed my head into Raven's shoulder, letting the tears flow freely.

'_To feel regret…'_

Yes, I had wasted my life, squandered it all on running and trying to fight the world.

'_To feel sorrow…'_

Yes, I had tossed away every offering of friendship that had come my way.

'_To feel hope…'_

But it didn't have to continue.

'_To feel happiness…'_

I could stop it anytime I wanted.

'_To feel kinship…'_

All I had to do was stop running.

'_To feel Love…'_

I pulled away from Raven, moved my hands up to her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Thank you," After pushing myself up to my feet, I offered a hand to her. "Now, how about we go trigger whatever trap it is that Slade has set up for us?" I wiped my eyes with my other hand after shoving both the key and the paper into my bag."

She simply studied me for a moment before smirking lightly and reaching up for my hand. "Are you sure we should? It could be dangerous."

I pulled her onto her feet and we resumed our subterranean trek up to the surface. "Hey, he'd be disappointed if we didn't chase after him blithely."

The flashlight levitated from the ground to Raven's hand. "Don't you mean, 'blindly'?"

I shook my head, grinning across the tunnel at her, "No, I meant what I said." I laughed at her impressed look. "You know, it's hard to spend the night in a library so I usually grabbed a little something to put me to sleep."

The sorceress snorted, shining the light ahead of us. "And just how often did you happen to stay in libraries?"

I shrugged, not really thinking about my reply. "Just about every time I spent the night in any town or city. It's one of the few places that's almost guaranteed to be empty at night or not well guarded." I was thinking more about the fact she still hadn't released my hand from her grip. I was still trailing a little behind her, but still…

She shook her head at me, smiling a little wider. "Learning about you is going to be an adventure all on its own, isn't it?"

I laughed.

Freedom was…nice.

* * *

**A\N**: A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to my beta reader, Solanaa. Thank you so much! Let me know what you think of the story, if you'd like.


	10. Urgent

Make sure to copy and paste the petition below to make it your own story... We need this petition going around through everyone who is an active member on FF.

The administrators are, as of June 4th, going to be taking down Fics that have lemons or have extreme violence. Now I don't know about you but I think that's stupid. There are many wonderful fics that only have one or two lemons in them yet the plot itself is awesome! You can't just take down a 100,000+ word fic just because it has a lemon in a chapter that is only 1000 words long. Now I urge you all to read the petition below, sign it, and repost this to your own fics. Hopefully if we make enough noise everything will return to normal. Thank you.

Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.

Myself, along with many others, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply hasn't been added.

If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.

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